Heartbroken
by TheFantasyTrain
Summary: Aqua is brought into Castle Oblivion to unlock its secrets. Here she meets a man she is sure was once Terra...whether he'll believe that however remains to be seen. She must find a way to rescue both of her friends, before it's too late. Pairings, Xemnas/Aqua, Terra/Aqua. Set after Dream Drop Distance.
1. Chapter One: An Old Friend

**Authors Note:** Hi all! This fanfic is a companion to my other Kingdom Hearts fic Heartfelt, however you don't need to read one to understand the other or anything. I hope you enjoy! Please review, thanks!

Chapter One: An Old Friend

Lifting my wrists I try to get a good look at the chains tying them back to the white wall behind me. To think that this is the place I have been trying to get back to repeatedly, and yet with Xehanort here it's the very last place I now want to be. I'm sure he knows Ventus is here. I'm also quite certain that he's already figured out that I'm the only one that should be able to find him...

A sigh escapes my lips as I look down. I'm sure it's been a long time since I've been back here. I wonder if Ven has woken up, if he's just trapped in that chamber now... And where Terra is.

The door is pulled open. I watch refusing to show any sign of worry as Xehanort steps into the room. He's followed by one of his hooded men. Xehanort pulls up a chair from the corner, setting it down before me he sits upon it. While the hooded man just stands in the corner. His eyes though I can't see them feel as though they're going to bore a hole in my face.

"Now, where to begin," Xehanort says, smirking at me.

"Where's Terra?" I ask through clinched teeth.

He chuckles. "No we won't begin there. I must compliment you on how well you hid young Ventus. These poor fellows have been searching for him for years."

My face hardens. "Yes, I feel bad for them."

"He's been asleep for far too long. You should wake him up," Xehanort says.

"I can't do that," I say. "Not until he'll be safe, from you."

Xehanort's eyes lose all pretense of friendliness. However, he can glare all he wants, it won't change my mind. Ven will just have to wait a little longer before I wake him up.

Anger fills his eyes. "You will return this land to the way it was."

I look away, smiling slightly despite myself. "I'm afraid sir, that you really have no way to make me."

He must know that I'm right, his eyes are brimming with frustration. I wonder, did he really think I would just do what he asks? Why would I risk putting my friend in that much danger? Who knows what Xehanort has planned for him now.

Just when Xehanort appears ready to burst from frustration the man in the corner walks over. I catch a glint of amber eyes as he watches me.

"Wouldn't you like to see that he's still all right?" he asks.

I frown, though I expect this question is meant as a trick he only sounds curious. "Yes, of course. But I want to be sure that he'll be safe before I go see him."

"You can be assured that I have no plans to kill young Ventus," Xehanort tells me.

"Do you mind telling me how long I've been gone?" I ask, entirely changing topics.

"Over ten years," the man in the coat says. "Now, I am going to have to insist that you change this castle back to the way it was."

I shake my head. "I can't do that."

As he steps back his hood slips partway, showing his face in its entirety. His eyes widen when I stare at him in shock. A smile plays across my lips.

"Terra!" I say. I attempt to stand up only for the chains to pull me backwards again.

He turns away swiftly not responding. My excitement fades slightly. Xehanort's heart must still be influencing him. But somehow, even if only slightly I know that he is still in there.

"It's been a long time, Terra," I say, my voice cracking slightly, even though I fight to keep it in check. "How are you?"

Xehanort mutters something under his breath but I pay him no heed. However Terra shows no sign of looking my way again, or even of answering.

"Terra please, speak to me. I've been worrying about you for ten years. Do you even remember me?" I say. "...Have you been looking for Ven this whole time?"

He finally looks back at me, pulling his hood down in one sharp movement. His eyes betray no emotion as he looks at me curiously. Our gaze remains locked until Xehanort forcefully pulls my chin away. His eyes are furious, causing me to almost flinch away from them, almost.

"I will make you unlock the secrets of this place," Xehanort says. "Even if I must make you beg to do so."

He flings me back against the wall full force, causing me to bite back a gasp. Magic fills his hand as he gets to his feet, still glaring at me. However before he can fling it at me, Terra, or the man who was once Terra, steps in between us.

"No, you will not harm her," he says.

Xehanort's face hardens. "I see I was wrong in allowing you to join this conversation. I will do whatever I see fit to do in order to get her to cooperate."

"Except hurt her, yes," he counters.

"It's the only way I'm ever going to get anything from her," Xehanort says.

"If you lay so much as a hand on her," he says. "I will make you regret it."

The magic fades from Xehanort's hand as he briefly looks genuinely concerned. He smirks. "I see. How exactly do you intend to do that?"

The man glances back over at me, his eyes harden as his eyebrows furrow into a frown. All I can do is watch them sort this out. I smile, he must really be in there somewhere.

"I would keep in mind Xehanort, that half of this organization is currently more loyal to me," he says. "Tell me, are you willing to enter into that fight?"

Xehanort seems shocked at first. However his expression quickly turns to anger as he glares at his own invention that is now causing him to stray further from his goals. But I get the feeling it isn't a chance he's willing to take.

"...Not for long. But very well, I will not harm her this day," Xehanort says. "However, we will speak of this later. And I insist you leave while I finish speaking with her."

The man who is at least half Terra shows no sign of moving from where he stands. He and Xehanort stare at each other for several minutes before either one speaks.

"I insist you leave first, we shall resume this conversation at a later time," the man says coldly.

Xehanort's eyes flick to my face, before he looks back at the man before him. "Watch yourself. Remember, I can always find a replacement."

Giving me one last glare he leaves the room. Terra still doesn't face me, watching until the door closes behind the man.

"Terra?" I say.

He turns abruptly and I'm surprised by the intensity of his glare. He brings forth a weapon pulsing with energy. In one swift motion he's cut through the chains on my wrists.

"I am not Terra," he hisses under his breath. I watch wide-eyed as he walks towards the door. "You will be forced to remain inside these walls until you decide to release Ventus."

"Wait!" I yell after him as he leaves the room, letting the door slam shut behind him.

Letting out a sigh I rub my wrists where the handcuffs had been. For the first time since seeing him I doubt myself. Maybe Xehanort really managed to snuff out Terra's heart. No...I won't let myself think like that. I walk over to the door, pulling it open slowly. The halls are empty of any signs of life.

My throat feels tight as I recall the way this place used to look. And how cheerful it always felt. I wonder if there's a chance it'll ever be like that again. I'd like to believe that it could, but then I also know that things will never be the same again.

I wander through the corridors aimlessly, still somehow able to recall where each one leads. Surprise grips me as I notice just how many doors are unlocked, some open. It's almost a miracle that they haven't found Ven, they've managed to unlock many of the mysteries here. Many more than I had anticipated.

My footsteps falter as I stop in front of door which if I opened it, would lead into a maze with Ventus's chamber being through a door on the other side. I walk past the next doorway before sitting down with my back against the wall. I won't give them any hint as to how to find Ven, in the chance that they're watching me.

I have no idea how long I've been sitting here before I hear the sound of footsteps coming towards me. I look up, frowning. However my expression softens when I see the man who looks nearly identical to Terra in the face. His brow is furrowed as he stops before me. Several minutes pass as we stare at each other.

"It's been a long time...my old friend," he says, at last breaking the silence.

My eyes widen. "So you really are Terra then."

He shakes his head. "No, I am not."

I get to my feet. "Then, why call me a friend?"

"It is a complicated thing to explain. But you have been my only friend these past ten years," he says, watching me unblinking. "And yet, I have the strangest feeling that we were friends before that."

"Then you must be Terra," I say.

He steps towards me the angry glint back in his eye. I step back impulsively, recalling vividly the last time we met. Is Xehanort's heart somehow influencing him, to hate being called Terra? He looks away.

"I'm not Terra," he says.

I sigh. "Fine. Then, what should I call you?"

"Xemnas," he says.

I smile. "Okay, Xemnas it is. Tell me, how have I been your friend?"

"I will show you at a later time," he says, staring back at me cooly. "For now it is late. I'll show you to your room. It's back that way."

I walk the way he points. But stop a couple yards away when I hear the soft rattling of a doorknob. Glancing back I see him removing his hand from the door I was sitting beside. I turn away. No doubt they're gonna be trying everything to get inside there now. I'm only glad I didn't sit in front of the true door. But still, I can't help but feel that my being found inside this hall at all is going to make them investigate it. Will they eventually be able to get inside? I have no way of knowing for sure, but I can only hope that that particular chamber remains as safe from them as its always been.

Xemnas leads me back the way I came, up several staircases before stopping and pulling a door among many open.

"Everyones rooms are along this hall," he informs me. "Xehanort's is the one at the end. I must advise against you disturbing him. You should also know that all exits are guarded."

I nod. "I won't."

I walk into the room, looking around briefly before turning to shut the door. Xemnas stops me just before I do however.

"I would also advise that you return this land to the way it once was, Xehanort will not remain patient for long. And you do not want to know what he has planned for you if you keep refusing, I cannot protect you for long," he says. "...There's water and a meal on that table. Rest now, but you must decide soon."

With that he turns away and enters a room located four doors from mine. I sigh, shutting my door. I sit down on the bed before picking up the plate of food left for me. Now I'm more convinced then ever that Terra's heart still resides inside of Xemnas. I pull out my wayfinder, staring into it's depths. Somehow, I _am_ going to save both of my friends.


	2. Chapter Two: Chamber of Repose

**Authors Note:** Hi everyone! I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it. Lemme know what you think so far. :)

Chapter Two: Chamber of Repose

Darkness greets me as I open my eyes. Though honestly I've become quite used to waking up in darkness. I've been waking in the realm of darkness for far too long. I jump, catching sight of one of the men in those black coats. I calm slightly upon noticing that it's Xemnas with a cup and plate in his hands.

"My apologizes, I didn't mean to frighten you," he says, setting both down on the table beside my bed.

I pick up the cup and sip its contents. I blink, staring into it. Green tea? I glance back up to where he's lingering by the door, his hand on the knob.

"Green tea?" I ask, it's always been my favorite.

He frowns. "Do you not like it?"

"No, I like it," I say smiling. "Thank you."

He nods. "After you're finished please meet me in the entrance. I'll explain why you've always been my friend."

Picking up a muffin I walk over to him. "I'm ready now."

He seems to accept this as he opens my door and heads off through the castle. I follow him to the front entrance, eating my muffin along the way. I feel more assured that I can return Terra to his former self, it's obvious he has at least some of his memories, even if they're buried so deeply within him that he hardly knows that's what they are.

Lifting his hand he opens up a portal of darkness, gesturing that I should enter into it. He leads me through the winding corridor and through an opening a short ways away. We step out into a familiar world. I look at the castle looming before me.

"Don't even consider running," Xemnas says, perhaps thinking the reason I was looking around was that I was looking for an escape.

He walks up the castle steps and I follow close behind. Once inside he proceeds through until we reach a room with a very advanced computer. He approaches it, sliding a disc into a slot, before typing away at the computer quickly. He takes the disc back and leads me through a couple more halls before halting in a large room. I jump as the floor in front of us separates, revealing a secret passage of sorts. A ramp is revealed just inside and we proceed down it. As soon as my feet are firmly planted on the ground below the ramp disappears. As we proceed I stare about my surroundings in wonder. This winding ramp is huge! And continues down further than I can see. Just when I begin to wonder if we're going to walk right into the center of this world we reach a door that opens as soon as we step in front of it. Yet another hall awaits us. This one has many doors along it, all chained shut. Before long this time another door looms in front of us, this one also opening when we stop in front of it. It closes immediately once I've stepped in behind him. This seems to be the final room. A throne-like chair stands in the very center. I wonder if he could be planning to lock me in here. There could be no better place, excepting perhaps where I've placed Ventus.

Xemnas is standing by the chair watching me. Upon catching my eye he points at something directly across from the chair. I gasp, walking over to the pile of armor that I've been without for over a decade. As well as my own Keyblade. I lift the Keyblade up before looking at Xemnas again. The faintest traces of a smile is on his face.

"You kept my armor safe," I say, smiling at him.

He nods. "Yes...and your armor, has been my only true friend."

I stare at him surprised. "It...has?"

"Indeed. I have often come, hoping I would regain more then just this faint sketch of memories that I have," he says, looking at his hands. "Yet I have not. Perhaps by finally being able to speak to you, I will."

I set the Keyblade back down carefully. "You must have been lonely."

"Perhaps," he says, sitting down on the throne.

I frown, leaning back against the wall. "Tell me, what _do_ you remember Xemnas?"

He rests his chin on his hand, lost in his thoughts. "There are two times that I can remember vividly. Two very conflicting things."

"What are they?" I ask curiously.

"Both are brief, but one is a time where you and I fought...I was laughing, so seemingly we did so for fun. And Ventus watched," Xemnas says, a smile playing across his lips at the memory. "...The other is a time where a different sort of me was planning on removing the heart from humans."

"Those certainly are conflicting. They come from two very different people," I say. "I'm sure that you can figure out who you are over time."

He frowns. "I have been trying to figure that out for over a decade. And yet the only name I come up with is Xehanort."

I shake my head. "You definitely aren't Xehanort."

"If I am not him then I am certainly not this Terra that you speak of," Xemnas says.

"Well, it sounds to me like you have some of his memories," I say, watching his eyes for any hint of anger.

"Perhaps meeting Ventus as well might trigger a memory," Xemnas says slowly.

I nod. There's every chance. "It might."

He seems pleased by this answer. "Then won't you show me where he is?"

I sigh, looking down at the armor by my feet. "No, I can't go to him until I'm sure he'll be safe."

"What if you just take me to him? I am not happy following Xehanort as it is. So I can promise easily, that I won't tell him where he's at," Xemnas says.

I look up sharply. Has he been trying to trick me all this time? Does he think that by acting kindly and using pretty words he can just get his way? He stares back evenly, his eyes not betraying any emotion. I bite my lip, looking away. He reminds me so much of Terra, but apparently I can't forget even for a moment that he's also at least half-Xehanort.

"No," I say sharply.

He picks up on my changed tone quickly. His eyes turn cold. "No? Why not?"

"Because he _wouldn't_ be safe. You aren't Terra, so how can I know what you have planned for him?" I say.

"I have nothing planned for him!" he exclaims, frustration clear from his tone. Getting up he paces over to me. "You will return Castle Oblivion to the land it once was, or I will cease protecting you from Xehanort. Perhaps after a day spent with him you will do as you are told."

I give him my best glare, before diving for my Keyblade. Just as my fingers brush it Xemnas grabs me from behind and pushes me into a portal. He follows directly behind pulling me along with him into Castle Oblivion. I stumble into another coated man. This one with long blue hair.

"Ah Isa, perfect timing," Xemnas says. "Lock her in her room. I am going to speak with Xehanort."

Isa nods. "Follow me."

It would be pointless not to obey at this point. I purposefully don't glance at Xemnas even though I feel his eyes following me until I'm out of his sight.

I watch the dark clouds from my too-small-to-fit-through window. Lifting my wayfinder, I stare into its depths. I've been turning it over in my hands for what seems like hours now. What am I suppose to do now? How can I even begin to help either one of my friends? It's times like these that I hardly feel like a qualified Keyblade Master. I blink, fighting back the tears that rise into my eyes. Crying won't solve anything.

The jingling of a key in my doorknob catches my attention. I watch, vision blurred as my door is opened and Xemnas walks in. I glare at him before turning away.

"Aqua," he says, his footfalls growing closer as he crosses the room, "I lost my temper earlier and I am very sorry. I have been waiting so long to officially meet you and yet I've been so cruel."

I look up at him. He honestly baffles me. I am not sure if I should hate him, or be treating him as a friend. It's just so complicated. It would help if I knew exactly how much he's Terra, and how much he's Xehanort. My eyes widen as he reaches down towards my face. Before I can leap back he's wiped away a tear that had escaped from my eye and rolled down my cheek. I gaze up at him, feeling more confused then ever while his fingers linger on my cheek.

"Help me to remember," he says. "Help me to remember the part of my heart that perhaps did once belong to this Terra person."

"I'm not sure I can help with that," I say.

"Please?" he asks. "...By the way, you're still safe from Xehanort's methods of torture. I couldn't bring myself to let him hurt you like that."

I clutch the wayfinder tightly in my hand. I can't give up so easily. I'll just have to be more cautious in the future. "Fine."

He smiles kindly. "Good."

"Am I still locked in this room?" I ask, walking around him to the door. He shakes his head. And I at last find myself smiling a tiny bit. "Then lets go outside."

Granted there isn't much of an outside here now, and you can't often see stars. But still, it sounds like fun. He doesn't seem fazed by this. But his expression is one as if he's wondering why I'd want to. A hooded figure watches us walk to the doors. He seems to debate stopping us until Xemnas waves him away.

I step out under the dark clouds, leading Xemnas around the building to a corner on the edge of the small stretch of land that is around the castle. I sit down on the very edge and stare out at the nothingness before me. Xemnas walks up beside me, he peers down cautiously at the dark depths below before sitting down as well. He leans back on his palms, staring up at the fast moving clouds.

"Back when this place was still called The Land of Departure, Terra and I used to sit out here and watch the clouds often after training. Ven started joining us after he arrived," I tell him, keeping my tone light.

"Oh?" he says. "I bet that was enjoyable."

I nod. "It was."

"I brought something for you," Xemnas says. "I figured it was high time that you got it back."

He lifts his hand and summons my Keyblade, before holding it out to me. I take it with a smile. Holding it out in front of me before making it disappear.

"Thank you," I say.

He nods, watching me. "I couldn't bring your armor. Xehanort wouldn't allow it. But it will be returned to you in good time."

I'm honestly surprised he even managed to bring this. Unless Xehanort wasn't aware, which is quite likely now that I think about it.

"Tell me, how come over half of the people are more loyal to you?" I ask. Something I've been wondering about since he first said it.

"I used to be a leader to some, while a couple others simply find me more trustworthy," he says simply.

"What was your plan? I mean why were you their leader?" I ask.

He opens his mouth to speak before looking away. I watch him, waiting for him to tell me. When he meets my eyes again he seems torn about it.

"That is a story for another time," he says, sounding as though he's choosing his words carefully.

"Okay," I say. I decide not to press him for further information.

"Tell me some things about my other friend," he says.

I smile. "Well, you and he were kinda like brothers. You trained together, argued of course. He was really sweet, came to The Land of Departure not remembering anything. He is very kind and gentle. When you left he went after you. He always believed in you. Do you remember what he looks like?"

He nods. "Yes, just like Roxas...who you wouldn't know. Tell me more, about both of you."

"Hmm...I'll tell you about when you, or Terra, and I first met Ven," I say with a smile. "You and I were training when he arrived with Master Xehanort. He and Master Eraqus left him in the hall while they went to discuss some things. And you went down first to say hello. I remember you were relieved when he responded. He had looked so sad just staring into the distance. But then—"

My words are drowned out by the sound of a portal opening and closing. A man stumbles through before collapsing. As his face hits the ground his hood falls back, revealing long messy pink hair. Xemnas makes a sound of annoyance in his throat as he walks briskly over to him. As I get to my feet a hooded blur rushes out of the shadows and over to him as well.

"What happened?" Xemnas asks.

"Sora and his goons, what else do you think?" the man spits out, anger evident in his tone.

"Sora?" I gasp, bending down beside Xemnas.

The man looks up at me, squinting briefly. "Who are you?"

"Mariaul? Sora _there_?" the other man asks.

"Where were you?" Xemnas demands.

However the guy, Mariaul doesn't respond to him. He lets out a faint moan before turning to the other man.

"Yes Braig, and he took ' _it'._ "


	3. Chapter Three: Threats

Chapter Three: Threats

"It?" Xemnas asks, tone puzzled.

I tear my eyes away from the man who is obviously injured on the ground and look instead towards the hooded man. Braig...I certainly remember him. However he doesn't spare me a glance, even though I'm sure he can tell that I'm glaring at him. However he does tug down his hood, I can see that his eyes are anxious.

"He...you mean you let him take it? I knew we shouldn't have trusted you with such an important task, as if!" he says, anger evident in his tone.

Mariaul looks up sharply, pushing himself to his knees. "What? Do you seriously believe I didn't _try_ to stop him?"

Xemnas gets to his feet in one swift motion, crossing his arms as he watches the other two. I stand up as well. If Xemnas doesn't know what they're talking about then there's no way I will.

"I insist you both tell me what you are talking about. What is this 'it'?" Xemnas asks in commanding tones.

Mariaul just scowls at him before looking again at Braig, raising his eyebrows as if telling Braig to tell him. I get the feeling that Mariaul really doesn't like working with this organization, but I could be wrong. Before he has a chance to speak Braig hauls him to his feet roughly, as a result a groan escapes Mariaul as he bends down to clutch his leg. Xemnas turns to Braig, staring at him pointedly, letting him know that he still expects an answer.

"It's got nothing to do with you, so don't worry yourself. If you're that concerned take it up with Xehanort," Braig says.

He begins helping the guy Mariaul into the castle. Xemnas also heads back towards it, gesturing that I should follow.

"My apologies. We will have to continue our conversation later," Xemnas tells me, as he walks through the door left open by Braig.

I nod. "Okay."

I follow Xemnas into the front hall, where Braig stands propping Mariaul up as they speak with Xehanort. The look of open alarm on Xehanort's face as he listens makes me very curious as to what they're speaking about. We're within earshot in only a couple moments, but it seems they're already finished speaking.

"What is going on?" Xemnas inquires of Xehanort.

The old master's eyes narrow as he turns to Xemnas. "Nothing of importance."

He opens a portal and takes Mariaul through it. And before Xemnas can address Braig again, the annoying man turns to me.

"So, isn't it about time you wake up Ventus? If he's even in there anymore," Braig says. I get the feeling this phrase was meant to irritate me...and it does.

"Not as long you're here," I say, moving towards him angrily. However Xemnas catches my arm, shaking his head no at me.

I turn away with an irritated sigh as Xemnas begins questioning Braig again. It's clear that he's getting nowhere with it. Finally, seeming to grow frustrated himself he turns away, muttering something about finding Xehanort. Not wanting Braig to try and speak to me again I walk away quickly, though I don't follow Xemnas. Instead I walk around the castle again, this time making sure to stay far away from Ventus's door.

I find myself near the top of the castle. Recognizing the changed area, I walk up to a door and unlock it. This is Master Eraqus's old room. I gasp, surprised at the colored walls. This room looks the same as it always did. Always a sort of messy neatness, if that's possible. A small smile spreads across my face as I see the familiar couch at the foot of the Master's bed where he used to read to Terra and I when we were young. He took in Terra first, when he was six years old. However neither Terra or the Master have ever told me about Terra's life before he became an apprentice Keyblade Wielder. Eventually Terra did tell me that unlike me he wasn't an orphan, always leaving me curious to know more. I came later, when I was seven, the Master took me in after my parents died. He explained that he was good friends with my father. A tear falls down my cheek when my thoughts return to the present. Master Eraqus is gone now, and it's all Xehanort's fault.

I sit down on the couch, staring into the distance. A sudden movement in the doorway catches my attention and I leap to my feet. I glare at the person in the doorway. The very man who has caused all of these problems for my Master, friends and I.

"Xehanort," I say, my greeting coming out sounding somewhat like a growl. "I thought Xemnas went to find you."

"He did, and now I have something I want to say to you," Xehanort says, walking forward until he's standing a few feet away, he summons his Keyblade and points it at me. "Stay far away from Xemnas."

"Why? Am I hurting your plans?" I say with a slight smile.

Anger is evident in his eyes, he takes a step closer and I quickly move to the side so as not to be pinned beside the couch, should he decide to use his Keyblade against me.

"Somehow, in the short time that you've been here, you have managed to place doubts in his head. As you are the only reason such doubts could pop up in his mind," Xehanort tells me, as we circle the room. I'm trying to position myself by the door. "So if you will not consent to show me where Ventus is and leave Xemnas as a lost cause I will have to kill you. The effect I believe will return the castle to the way it was. As such, I will be able to find Ventus, and my plans will remain intact."

I glare at him, summoning my Keyblade as I finally reach the doorway. "I _will_ rescue both of my friends from you. So if you are so intent in stopping me, I'm afraid you will have to kill me."

Without more warning than his glare becoming more intense, he shoves his Keyblade at me. I leap backwards shooting a ball of fire at him, which he avoids easily, warping to a spot beside me. I leap backwards again, putting some distance between us. He tosses a couple different types of magic at me, seemingly calculating my ability to dodge. Getting into a good position I leap up, intending to strike him from the air. He lifts his Keyblade in response, however just before I reach him a blur with grayish hair steps in the way, holding two weapons pulsing with energy. Unable to stop in time, my Keyblade slams against one while I hear Xehanort's Keyblade hit the other. Xemnas pushes our Keyblades away, and I leap backwards. His expression is a mixture of surprise and concern.

"What's going on?" he asks.

Xehanort and my eyes meet, as his Keyblade vanishes. "Just a little argument."

Xemnas looks at me, uncertain. "Aqua?"

I look away with a sigh. Turning around I walk away slowly, while Xehanort departs through a portal. I feel Xemnas's eyes on me until I'm out of sight.

* * *

I'm startled awake the next morning by a strange noise. I sit up quickly, letting out a sigh when I see Xemnas. I smile at him.

"What's up?" I ask him, swinging my legs around the side of the bed.

He gazes at me silently for a moment, before smiling and holding out his hand. Which I accept to get to my feet. He lets go of my hand after a moment, but the smile remains. Whether it's a real one or not I can't tell.

"Come, let us go somewhere cheerful to talk," Xemnas tells me.

"Okay," I agree.

He hands me a black coat and matching pair of pants. "You may wish to where these if you don't want the darkness to effect you."

I nod. "Thank you."

He steps out of my room so I can change. After doing so I leave the room, pulling my hood up. Xemnas opens a portal and I follow him into it. We step out into Radiant Garden, the bright morning light making me have to squint.

Xemnas remains silent as we start walking into the town itself. The streets are crowded at this hour, with both adults and children walking about, their voices mostly caught up in the wind. Pulling out a small pouch Xemnas walks up to a small stand where a man is selling muffins and cookies.

"Here," Xemnas says, returning with two muffins. He hands me one and I smile at him before taking a bite.

We go back to the outskirts of the world, where Xemnas leads the way towards a bench amidst a sea of flowers. I sit beside him polishing off the muffin before speaking.

"How are you?" I ask.

He appears vaguely puzzled at such a question. "Perfectly fine."

"Do you come here a lot?"

He shakes his head. "Not unless I was going into Ansem's castle."

Silence fills the air, only broken by the sound of birds chirping as they fly about overhead. Xemnas leans back, staring up at the sky, his eyes appearing lighter from the glint of the sun in them.

"So, what other things did we used to do besides chat outside?" Xemnas asks me, turning his eyes to mine.

"Well, we trained together a lot," I say. "Sometimes with Ven, sometimes not."

His eyes focus on something over my shoulder and he's up and darting past me in one quick motion. I watch surprised as he catches a kid by the arm, they're too far away now for me to hear what he's saying. I get to my feet and run over.

"Xemnas? What's wrong?"

He tosses my munny pouch at me, not letting go of the kids arm. "This _child,_ attempted to steal your munny."

"I'm sorry okay? Just let me go," the kid says, struggling to pull his arm from Xemnas's strong grip.

Walking up to the kid I bend down to his eye level, staring at him sternly. "I'm sure you know stealing is wrong."

The kid looks everywhere but my face, still struggling to get away from Xemnas, who simply gazes down at him in disgust.

"What was your reason for taking my munny?" I ask gently.

The kid still refuses to look at me, opting instead to bite Xemnas's hand. However instead of letting him go Xemnas simply grabs him in his other hand, his eyes filled with barely suppressed anger.

"There is no point in trying to reason with thieves. He only needs punished so as not to do it again," Xemnas says.

His hand alights with stun magic. I gasp, grabbing that arm. "You can't use magic! You'll hurt him!"

He doesn't glance my way. "I don't see why not. And it won't hurt him, it will just freeze him in place long enough to scare him from doing something like this again."

The kid whimpers slightly, still trying and failing to get away. I glare at Xemnas as the wind stirs our hair as it brushes past us.

"Let go of him...now."

Xemnas looks up sharply, his eye widening with surprise from my tone. After a small amount of deliberation he does indeed release his grip on the kids arm. I watch him run back into the city, glancing back at us every few steps.

"I don't understand," he says, staring at me curiously.

I sigh, still angry with him. "You can't use magic as a punishment on kids, don't you see how wrong that is?"

He frowns thoughtfully for a moment. "I'm afraid that I do not."

I stare at the back of his head in shock as he opens a portal and steps inside of it. Clearly trusting me to follow. After a moment I do so, and find him waiting a few feet away beside the entrance to Castle Oblivion. I run over to him, somewhat determined to make him understand this.

"That kid couldn't have been older than nine or ten. He's still in a place of innocence, I'm sure he had a good reason," I say.

He frowns at me. "He was hardly innocent."

"But it was wrong Terra!" I yell, slipping up and calling him by the wrong name.

I see the shift in his expression as anger filled his eyes. "...All thieves deserve to be punished."

I follow him into the castle. "Well yes. But not like—"

I stare in shock as Xemnas pulls out a Keyblade. I had no idea he could use one, but it definitely isn't Terra's. I list my eyes to his face and realize just how much the expression in his eyes currently reminds me of Xehanort. Just another reminder, that he is probably more Xehanort than Terra currently.

"You want to fight me?" I say, summoning my Keyblade as well.

In response he runs at me full force, Keyblade in hand. He tries to land an attack in a way very similar to how Terra would at times, putting all of his strength into one singular attack. I dodge it easily, knowing that there's no way I can take that much force with my Keyblade. I charge him and our Keyblades meet with a resounding clash of metal on metal as I hear portals opening around us. As we continue fighting at some point I can feel the shift between anger and mutual enjoyment in the fight. Xemnas becomes more strategic upon calming down, no longer seeming to rely on brute force. I take a few small leaps backwards, calculating him. I see a faint smile on his face from across the hall as he watches me, waiting for my next move.

I run at him, trying a technique I have often used on Terra. I swing my Keyblade towards his side which he moves quickly to the side to avoid. In the brief moment that he's looking elsewhere and readjusting his stance I spin around and knock the Keyblade from his hand, hitting in just the right spot for him to lose his grip on it. Straightening up I point my Keyblade at him, moving to block his way to his fallen weapon. At the last Terra grew used to this technique and would rarely fall for it, but I'm glad I decided it was worth a try.

Several people gasp, and I hear them begin speaking quietly amongst themselves, but I don't look over at them. Xemnas's gaze and mine are locked. After we've been staring at each other for several moments the beginnings of a smile appear on Xemnas's face. I grin as he starts laughing, all traces of anger gone from his eyes. I laugh as well, going over to pick up his Keyblade. I hand it back to him and it disappears.

"That was...fun," he says at last.

I nod, still chuckling. "Yes it was."

He heads towards the door and I follow, aware of several pairs of eyes watching us. When he pulls open the door I glance back at the room to see several hooded figures along with Braig and Mariaul watching us incredulously. Xehanort stands the farthest away. His eyes are filled with alarm that is quickly changing to horror. I smile, following Xemnas outside.


	4. Chapter Four: Chamber of Waking

Chapter Four: Chamber of Waking

 **Ventus's Point of View**

I open my eyes slowly, blinking back a foggy sleep. Holding my hands out in front of me, I frown slightly in confusion. My gaze falls downwards and I tilt my head to one side and step backwards. I'm on a platform, where I'm standing on a large picture of me. This seems familiar for some reason... That's right, I remember now.

"Ventus, right?"

I recognize the voice though it's much different then when I last heard it. It belongs to Sora. But why is he in my heart now? Turning around slowly, I don't see anyone near me.

"Yes, that's right," I say, my voice falling strangely flat in the darkness.

All is silent for several minutes as I walk forward cautiously, staring down at the image. I still feel almost in a daze, and slightly weakened at the same time. As though I'm struggling to hold onto consciousness.

"Remember, I told you that one day you would be strong enough to win back the part of your heart that you lost?" Sora speaks again.

I nod. "Yeah... Is it time now?"

Seemingly in response a staircase appears, winding upwards to another platform. I walk up it slowly, my mind becoming less of a haze as I near the top. I step out onto the next platform, frowning when I see Vanitas on this one. I slowly turn my gaze straight ahead, staring in shock as I recognize Vanitas in front of me. His head is down and his back to me. However he turns to face me slowly, his Keyblade already in hand. I summon mine, stepping closer to him cautiously.

"Vanitas..."

He smirks, surprising me. What does he have to be happy about? He slowly raises his hand, pointing his Keyblade at my chest. He gives me no further warning as he leaps into the air. I just barely have time to block him and the repercussion from the attack sends me sliding backwards. I stop in time to not fall over the edge, before quickly dodging as he comes at me again. He doesn't pause before immediately swinging his Keyblade around and making me have to leap backwards to avoid another collision. We continue like this for some time, until I get him unbalanced enough that I don't have to constantly be on the defensive. Both of us are out of breath, however instead of feeling even weaker I feel like I could continue forever.

At long last I catch an opening and knock the Keyblade from his hands, sending him flying backwards. He barely manages to grab onto the edge as I walk towards him, frowning as I keep my Keyblade pointed at him. He looks up at me anxiously, seemingly unable to pull himself up. I hesitate before offering him a hand up. He accepts it and gets to his feet unsteadily, surprising me by chuckling.

"What's so funny?" I ask.

He shakes his head as he looks at me, smirking now. "To think, I'm free from you but am now tethered to Xehanort. Life is so unfair."

Before I can ask him what exactly he means a darkness begins emitting from him as he slowly begins to fade. He looks somewhat sad as he summons his Keyblade before entirely fading into darkness.

I raise my hand to my heart as I look down. So now Vanitas is gone from my heart. Can I be complete without him? He mentioned Xehanort... I look up as a staircase begins appearing at my feet, leading up to another platform. I need to get to Aqua and Terra. I have to make sure they're okay.

My shoes thud the sound echoing loudly as I run up towards the next platform. I come to a sudden halt upon seeing someone standing beside a large double-door. However I relax as the person turns around, putting his hands behind his head as he grins at me. Sora.

"Your heart is strong enough now," he tells me.

I come to a halt in front of him, smiling. "Thank you, Sora."

A light begins appearing around him, similarly to how the darkness emitted from Vanitas. He becomes slightly see-through.

"I'll see you soon, when we're both awake," Sora tells me.

I nod. "Okay, see you then, Sora."

"You can wake up now," he says, fading entirely. "All you have to do is, open the door."

I turn around. A smile plays across my lips as I reach for the doors handles and pull it open. Blinding light pours out and I step into it.

* * *

 **Aqua's Point of View**

I spin my wayfinder slowly around in my hands, letting out a sigh. How long are things going to remain like this? I've been here for a week now, and so far there's been close to no change in Xemnas. Though I can now safely call him a friend. As for Ventus, it's only a matter of time before Xehanort is willing to risk angering Xemnas and as a result half of his organization by ending my life. Something must be done, and fast. I can't stand not being able to do anything that can help. And now, Ansem the wise has become another vessel for Xehanort. Xemnas explained about those to me, but wouldn't tell me how many Xehanort still needs.

I gasp as an almost blinding light emanates from the wayfinder. I clutch it tighter, my eyes widening as the glow only intensifies. But how? I smile, tears of joy filling my eyes. Sora. Somehow, I know this is because of him. Ventus, he must be awake now. My elated joy quickly fizzles out as I realize that he's trapped, he won't be able to figure out the maze. I should be the only one that can. Meaning someway, I have to get him out of there, and fast. It should be easier at least, now that he's awake. But Xemnas...I can't just leave him here. I bite my lip worriedly. This is one of the more risky plans I have ever come up with...but it's the only one that might work.

Getting to my feet, I leave my room, walking as quietly as possible to Xemnas's door. I only hope he's in there. I don't knock, not wanting to alert Xehanort. The room is nearly completely dark, however my eyes are almost immediately drawn to one light source resting on Xemnas's dresser. I gasp, picking it up. It's Terra's wayfinder... A smile spreads across my lips...he kept it. But how come he didn't tell me he had it?

I walk over to his bed, my eyes adjusting to the dim lighting. I reach out to shake his shoulder and pause. He's sprawled out, sleeping peacefully with a small smile. He looks just like Terra like this. Except for the grayish hair. I touch his shoulder gently.

"Xemnas?"

He stirs, opening his eyes slowly. At first he only smiles before sitting up slowly, his expression changing to one of concern.

"Aqua? Are you all right?" he asks.

"Yes...I need your help," I say. "I've decided to trust you...and now I need your help getting out of here with Ventus. And I hope, that you will come with us."

His eyes widen as he takes in what I'm saying. He swings his legs out of bed and gets to his feet. He frowns slightly, meeting my gaze.

"So you're asking me to switch sides, to betray Xehanort?" he asks, his tone holding a hint of annoyance.

My eyebrows furrow as I glare at him. "Are you really that loyal to him? If so why stop him from killing me?"

He appears almost confused. "Because you're my friend..."

I look down, letting out a sigh. "Please, won't you help me?"

He watches me silently for several minutes before nodding begrudgingly. "Very well, I'll help you, for now. Take me to him."

I smile at him, touching his hand briefly in thanks before walking towards the door. I pause as I pass the wayfinder. I lift it up and he frowns.

"Do you remember when I made these for you, me and Ventus?" I ask.

He looks surprised. "I didn't know that you did. Why does it glow?"

I take mine out from within a pocket of the coat, holding it up beside his. "Because of Ventus. Come on."

He follows me from the room, pocketing the wayfinder and walking quietly behind me. I lead him to the hall leading to the maze and then to Ventus's room. In the entrance to said hall is a man in one of the organizations coats. Xemnas waves him away and he departs. I watch him cautiously until he's out of sight.

"So, he really is in here," Xemnas says entering the hall with me.

I nod, summoning the Master's Keyblade. Xemnas watches as I use it to unlock the door before stepping into the maze. Bright white walls greet us from every side, letting off a faint glow. Xemnas walking up, looks down at me.

"...I trust you know your way through this?"

I nod, walking into it. "Stay close, or you will get lost."

The maze is designed to shift around anyone besides me. So even if one were to figure out the layout of it, it would only change. Perhaps keeping them locked within it forever.

I reach the other side of it in a matter of minutes. Taking a deep breath I reach for Ventus's door, before pausing as I hear a noise from behind us. Something suddenly aligns in my head. I look over at Xemnas, his gaze is eager, and strangely calm. He's gonna turn against us. How could I be so foolish? I should have learned a long time ago not to trust someone blindly. Especially not someone connected so closely with Xehanort. As soon as I break Ven free, and leave the maze, Xehanort will be waiting. But what do I do? I can't just leave Terra here either. If I can just get Ven safely outside...maybe we can knock Xemnas out and bring him with us.

I pull the doors open, walking inside. Stepping into the room a smile spreads across my face as I see Ven standing in front of the middle throne, his head down.

"Ven!"

He turns slowly, his eyes lighting up as he runs over to me. Coming to a halt right in front of me, he grins, hesitating only a moment before giving me a quick hug and stepping back again.

"Aqua! It's been awhile...hasn't it?" he says. "Where's..." Looking around he spots Xemnas. They stare at each other for several minutes before Xemnas cautiously walks over. I stand beside Ven, somewhat protectively.

Xemnas holds out his hand to him with a small smile. "Hello, Ventus."

Ventus shakes it, frowning slightly. "Terra? Or..."

Xemnas shakes his head no. "I'm Xemnas. I have wanted to meet you for a long time."

I look around, now planning an escape. Windows... If I return this land to how it was we could get out through windows. However, Xehanort will find us faster. Either way, it's the better option. Ventus or I can open a portal outside.

Summoning the Master's Keyblade I stand behind the middle throne. A wind that doesn't belong picks up as I point the Keyblade at a barely visible Keyhole. I close my eyes against it, only opening them when the wind dies back down. Ven walks up to me, looking surprised.

"Come on," I tell them, running over to a window. I toss my own Keyblade at the window and it shatters into more pieces than is possible to count. The three of us duck until the glass shards have mostly fallen safely to the ground.

Ven runs after me as I hurry to the window. Crouching low I wait for Ven to leave before leaping out right after him. I'm waiting with my Keyblade still out as Xemnas leaps through. I point it at him, as he stares at me, a mixture of shock and hurt on his face. I shoot a stun spell at him before he can move. Then I run over to him, as Ventus yells my name, sounding equally shocked. I lift my Keyblade handle up, going to knock him out, but just as I bring it downwards he disappears.

I spin around to find Xehanort and half of his organization in between Ventus and I. Xemnas is no longer stunned and frowns at me.

"Perhaps I was planning to help you," he tells me, feigning sorrow.

I let out a sigh as I look down, clutching my Keyblade tighter. "No. You weren't."

Across the way Ventus has his Keyblade in hand and is glaring at Xehanort. The old Keyblade Master turns to look at him, his back now to me.

"Ah Ventus. How nice it is to see you awake," Xehanort says.

"Ventus run!" I yell. If he hurries, then he still can.

"No, not without you and Terra," he says, taking his fighting stance. Sometimes, he's just too stubborn for his own good.

Xehanort turns to face me again, and I point my Keyblade at him, shooting a powerful blizzard spell at him. He deflects it with his Keyblade, walking towards me slowly.

"I'm afraid, Aqua, I have no further use for you. And no longer have any fear of being over-ruled," Xehanort tells me.

He begins shooting balls of dark energy at me. I can dodge them, but not for long. Sooner than I thought, I find myself face to face with one I know that even my magical barrier can't protect against. I bring my hands and my Keyblade up and look away. A blur on the edge of my vision catches my attention. Xemnas stands in front of me, energy similar to what his weapons are made of erupts from within him, forming a globe around him. The dark energy hits it and is absorbed, all of this transpiring in a matter of a mere second or two.

"Xemnas! What are you thinking of now?" Xehanort demands. "You agreed...you said you were going to continue to help me. She even was willing to hurt _you_!"

I stare up at him wide eyed as the energy fades around him. He glances back at me, holding my gaze for a moment before summoning a Keyblade. For a moment I think he's going to attack me with it, but then he points it at Xehanort.

"That doesn't matter now. I still... I will _not_ let you hurt my friend!" Xemnas says, his voice towards the end sounding just like Terra's.

Thinking quickly I take this opportunity to run over to Ventus. There is some hope for Xemnas, after all. Ventus brings his fist around to his armor patch. I look over at Xemnas, who smiles, nodding. He walks backwards into a portal of darkness. A moment later and he has opened a portal behind us. We run into it as Xehanort shoots another dark ball of energy at my back. The portal closes behind us right before it can touch me.

"Where do we go now?" Ven asks.

"I know a place, where we all will be safe," Xemnas says.

I look at him, though he has his hood up I can see his face. And his eyes remain the same shade of amber. My face falls slightly. With the still lighter tone to his voice I was so hopeful...hopeful that he now was Terra.

"I don't trust you," Ven says.

"You are going to have to," Xemnas replies simply.

Ventus's looks over at me, his eyes hidden within his armor. I hesitate, before nodding, turning to Xemnas.

"Okay, where do we go Xemnas?" I ask.

In response he walks down the corridor slowly, but purposefully. I follow with some caution. I still don't trust him 100 percent, but hopefully, at least for now, he's on our side.

Without pause Xemnas steps out through an opening. I follow, walking out into the night, many stars and a full moon cast some light downwards. Ven walks up, taking off his armor.

"Here?" he asks.

We're in Radiant Garden, standing directly in front of Ansem's castle, where Xemnas keeps my armor. Still on alert I follow him to the front door, which he proceeds to pound on three times. I look around, watching for any sign of Xehanort having followed. But there's nothing, the night is still.

A smaller door opens inside one of the taller ones, creaking loudly. A man with long blond hair in a white lab coat opens the door. He glares at Xemnas, immediately slamming it shut again.

"Yes, I suppose they wouldn't be happy to see me," Xemnas mutters thoughtfully.

Ventus walks around him, frowning. "Let me try, I've met him before."

Xemnas steps back beside me willingly as Ventus knocks on the door. After a few tries the door is opened again, this time by a teenager no more than a couple years older than Ven with steel blue hair. He looks surprised to see Ventus.

"Roxas? No...you must be the other, Ventus I believe?" he says.

"Ienzo? You've gotten...older than me," Ventus says, surprise coloring his tone.

Ienzo chuckles, looking over Ventus's head at me and then Xemnas. He frowns slightly before opening the door the rest of the way and stepping outside so we can walk past him easily.

"I think perhaps we had all better talk," he says. "Do come inside."


	5. Chapter Five: The Lingering Will

Chapter Five: The Lingering Will

I follow Ienzo through the many halls of the castle. He said there's something he wants to show me and Ventus. However he and the rest of Ansem the Wises' apprentices downright refused to allow Xemnas to accompany us. Which is why he is currently pacing in the entryway, and last I saw, being glared at by a man named Even.

Ienzo takes us so far into the castle that I've lost almost all sense of direction. The halls are now dimly lit, and our shoes echo loudly with every step we take. At last he stops before a very tall door made out of iron. There are many strange bolts across it, two of them with keyholes. Ventus meets my eye and shrugs, following Ienzo inside once he pulls the door open. The inside of the room is pitch black at first, until Ienzo steps past me and flips some switch just inside. I gasp, my hands flying to my mouth in shock, while Ventus simply runs forward, a grin on his face. Kneeling before us is Terra's armor. His hands are folded over his Keyblade that has made a hole into the floor, and his helmet tilts downwards as though it is staring at said Keyblade.

"But...how?" I ask, my mind immediately turning to Xemnas.

Before Ienzo has a chance to answer, the armor moves, its helmet turning towards Ven. It's only a split second before I know what it's about to do. It enters into a battle stance, still facing Ventus, whose eyes have gone wide with shock. I run in front of him.

"No!" I say.

The empty armor turns its Keyblade towards me. It seems to deliberate briefly before sinking back to its knees, firmly placing it's Keyblade back and folding it's hands over top of it once more. As though it realized we aren't a threat. I look back over at Ienzo, hoping for some answers.

"Fascinating... It hasn't reacted like that to anything," he mutters, bringing his hand up to his chin.

"How can it move at all? It's like..." I trail off, peering closer at the armor.

"Like a piece of your other friend, Terra, is within it?" Ienzo smiles, approaching the armor. "In fact there is. His will."

"But how is that possible?" I ask.

"It _is_ something unheard of, and yet, the only explanation. It seems to have his will, and perhaps even his thoughts. Though sadly all of Even and my attempts to run tests on it have thus far, failed," he says with a sigh. "I think the fact that it reacted to both of you is proof. It was also heavily guarded by the organization when Sora and Riku came across it."

This catches Ven's attention. "Sora did?"

Ienzo nods in response. "Yes. And I am sure Aeleus is already informing Yen Sid that you have arrived, he will in turn alert Sora, Riku and Kairi, along with King Mickey to such good news. You see, Sora's mission this entire time has been to save those hearts that needed to be saved."

This makes both Ven and I smile. However mine quickly fades as I turn back to look at Terra's armor. I touch the armors hand briefly before looking back at Ienzo.

"Who do you think Xemnas is exactly? I know he has Terra's heart within him," I say.

"Well, I've actually had the chance to run some tests on him...it's a long story, but there was a time, albeit briefly, when we had all of the organization members under our custody. We even managed to free some from Xehanort's grasp," he says. "However, Xemnas is rather complicated. He does indeed have your friends heart within him, Xehanort's as well. But here lies the problem, Xemnas's body is trying to create it's own heart, and the combined powers of Xehanort and Xemnas's hearts could be too much for Terra's."

"Can you save him?" I ask, looking over at the armor.

"That would take more research, but I believe it _is_ possible. It would perhaps take Sora's Keyblade however..." Ienzo says.

At least there's hope. But we _have_ to save him, somehow. Ventus smiles at me reassuringly and we both follow Ienzo out of the room. He takes us back through the halls and to the front room of the castle where Xemnas still paces. He stops when he sees us, smiling as he walks over. It takes me a moment to return it and in that time his eyebrows furrow into a frown.

* * *

Night has long since fallen over Radiant Garden. Another day past. I stare at my wayfinder, tired but unable to sleep even though I didn't at all the night before either. I'm thrilled to be out from under the same roof as Xehanort, and what's more with Xemnas and Ven. But now, I can only hope that we'll be able to rescue Terra as well.

The sound of footsteps echoing in the hall outside my door catches my attention and I get off of my bed. I open the door slowly, peering out into the now dark hallways. I see a figure turn the corner and something makes me follow...maybe just because it seems suspicious to me. I try to walk quietly, luckily this proves fairly easy since I left my shoes beside the bed.

After over ten minutes of following this person, whoever he is, from a distance I begin to recognize my surroundings. This is leading to the armor, and the person is too tall to be Ienzo, but perhaps the other scientist has some reason for being over here? My fear however, is that it's Xemnas. As I slow, relatively certain that my imagination is just going into hyperdrive and whoever is down here is surely allowed to be, I hear the sound of a Keyblade being summoned and then the bolts sliding away from the door. As I turn the corner I'm in time to see the door slide shut again and the locks snap into place.

I run forward now, my fear realized. A Keyblade, it _has_ to be Xemnas. Pulling out my own Keyblade I unlock the door as well. I quickly slide the bolts away as I hear the sound of metal against metal inside. Yanking the door open I freeze wide-eyed in the doorway. The light has been turned on and I clearly see Xemnas and the armor positioning themselves on opposite sides of the room. I watch horrified as they run at each other full speed. Thinking fast I run in between them, casting my shield moments before they would hit me. They both bounce off of it. Hardly hesitating for a moment, Terra's armor runs around me, still intent on getting to Xemnas. Xemnas in turn seems more than eager to fight it.

"Stop it!" I say, but of course, neither of them even spare me a glance.

I summon Master Eraqus's Keyblade as well and again step in between them. However this time I grab Xemnas's arm, trying to pull him towards the door. He tugs his arm away from me however as the armor comes at him again. I stare hopelessly as they continue fighting, a whirlwind of equal resounding strengths as their Keyblade clash together again and again. Two large figures in the doorway catch my attention. Aeleus and Dilan, two of the apprentices. Aeleus grips the armor from behind, restraining it, while Dilan yanks Xemnas back, tossing him against the wall to stop his forward momentum. Xemnas blinks, surprised. And Dilan pulls him up before shoving him to the door. I follow quickly and a couple moments later, so does Aeleus, swiftly shutting the door and locking it behind him as a loud thud reverberates against the iron door, leaving a small dint in it, visible from this side of the door.

Xemnas's eyes are angry as he glares at the door. "So that—that is what Xehanort was hiding. What Sora found. The 'it' they would not tell me about."

"You are not allowed down here," Aeleus says.

"Go back to your room or I shall escort you there," Dilan threatens. "You should know that this room is under constant surveillance."

Xemnas turns his glare to them, but pulls his arm from Dilan's grasp and storms off right past me. That was close, I don't want to think of how that fight would have ended. Both people are crucial to Terra's return. I look up when Dilan speaks again.

"Make sure he doesn't come back down here. Or we will have to lock him up."

I nod. "Thank you for your help."

Turning away from them I walk swiftly down the hall until I've caught up with Xemnas. I walk alongside him in silence until we reach his room, where he enters and slams the door in my face. I frown, hesitating briefly before opening the door slightly. I see Xemnas sitting on his bed with his head face buried in his hands, as he grips his hair with his fingers.

"May I come in?" I ask softly.

He looks up sharply at me before nodding with a frustrated sigh. Entering, I shut the door before sitting down next to him. Uncertain of what to say to him we sit in silence for several minutes until at last he speaks.

"Don't worry, I won't be going back in there," Xemnas tells me sharply.

"...Why did you go in there to begin with? And how did you know which room to look in?" I ask, keeping my tone light.

He lowers his hands slowly. "I just wanted to know what was being hidden from me. And you forget, I once called this castle home where I spent many hours walking its halls. I knew the likely areas they would hide something."

I did forget that he told me that. But his explanation makes sense. And I can hardly blame him for wanting to find out what it was Ienzo had shown Ventus and I.

"It's the weirdest thing...but I remember that suit of armor. It was Terra's wasn't it?" Xemnas asks, looking at me curiously.

I nod, feeling hopeful. "Yes it was...do you remember wearing it?"

He scowls, thinking hard. At last he nods slowly. "Only slightly...I also have a memory of fighting it."

I frown. Of fighting it? It must be a memory of Xehanort's. If so that isn't a good sign. However I also have another theory on him, from what little knowledge I have of hearts. I think something when he protected me from Xehanort, triggered Terra's heart somehow. And that perhaps, Terra's heart has woken inside him. It would explain Xemnas's now lighter tone, and more friendly attitude towards Ventus and I.

"I do remember one other thing..." Xemnas says after a moment. When he looks at me again I'm relieved to see all hint of anger faded from his eyes. "I remember when I first met you. When...Eraqus, brought you into his house. I— or Terra, had been supposed to keep training, not allowed to disturb you as Eraqus thought you would like your space at first because your parents had only just died. But of course, being ten, I didn't listen."

I smile at him, listening intently as he continues. Happy at his remembering something else from Terra's memories, and with such detail.

* * *

 **Memory: Terra's Point of View**

Excited, I raced over to the top of the stairs when I heard the doors open and then Master Eraqus speaking to someone. It felt like it was ages since I had seen a kid anywhere near my age. It didn't matter to me if she was a girl. I'm sure she will still be a lot of fun to hang around with. So long as she didn't want to play with dolls... Though if she was really sad I suppose I could humor her.

On my hands and knees, I peeked down to the floor below, taking care to stay out of my masters line of sight. I saw him holding two large suitcases, looking down at a girl beside him. She had shoulder length blue hair and was probably a head shorter than me. That's all I could tell from my position. And I didn't want to risk standing up to see her better. The master had been very clear, when he told me not to bother her in any way. But would introducing myself really bother her? Hmm...

She and Master Eraqus began ascending the stairs, but I noticed that she was trailing a bit behind him. I ducked into the shadows when the master stepped off of the last step. He continued on, taking her things into a hall just off from this room. I got to my feet as she also stepped off of the last step. Hoping not to scare her I walked over. She looked up, maybe slightly startled. But definitely not scared. I grinned at her, holding out my hand as I've seen many grown ups do to introduce themselves.

"Hi, I'm Terra," I said. "What's your name?"

She reached for my hand shyly as I suddenly felt someone grip my collar from behind and pull me back sharply. Though it was done is such a way as not to hurt me. I looked up slowly.

"Hi Master Eraqus," I greeted, smiling up at him nervously.

He doesn't look amused and he scowls down at me. We both look over sharply at the girl, when she starts giggling. Master Eraqus lets go of the hold he has on me and I fall forward.

"Nice to meet you Terra, I'm Aqua," she said, holding out _her_ hand this time.

I shook it, still unable to keep the smile from my face. Yes, I think we're going to be great friends. And we'll even be able to train together! Even though I do feel sad for her, it would be sad to lose parents, I can't help but feel happy myself. Because even though Master Eraqus is great company. He's like, somewhere around thirty years older than me...I think? Aqua gives me one last smile as she follows the master into her new room.

* * *

 **Xemnas's Point of View**

I find a smile still playing across my lips at the memory. Even though I know it is not exactly my own. Any such memories are the only way I'm going to ever know what it could have been like, having my own past. Aqua's watching me, smiling herself.

Wanting to have a minute by myself to contemplate this new memory, I get to my feet with a thought of how to please her at the same time.

"I'm going to make some tea, would you like some?" I ask pleasantly. I know she likes tea, and I will be able to think for a minute while I make it.

She nods. "Yes. Would you like some company?"

I shake my head no, walking towards the door. "I will be back in a few minutes."

I walk down towards where I remember the kitchen to be, hoping that at this hour, no one else will be making anything in there. Upon reaching it, I'm pleased to see that it is in fact empty. I quickly gather the necessary items to make tea, set the water boiling, and lean back against the wall closing my eyes.

Now I find myself wishing that I were this Terra person. He seemed to have a decent life. With Aqua and Ventus as his friends. A kind master, that I can tell from my own heart, he thought of as a father. An overall decent life...at least after going to live with Eraqus. His life beforehand, I am uncertain of. But somehow feel as though it wasn't as pleasant.

When the water finally boils I pour it into two cups and put the tea leaves in it. I bring it back up to my room, closing the door behind me. I walk over to the bed, taking care not to spill the liquid. "Here—"

I blink. Aqua's fast asleep on the bed, a smile on her face and her head resting on one of my pillows. I set one of the cups down on a nightstand, still holding the other. I peer closely at her face, pleased to see her smiling. It still seems unreal to me, that I have finally met her. I have wanted to since I first came into being without memories. Meeting her became an obsession of mine. Now, I know both her and Ventus. I have...friends. I smile, reaching over to brush her bangs out of her face.

I sip at the tea until it's gone, still watching her. I wonder...should I move her? However, after much deliberation I decide to leave her where she is, not wanting to risk waking her. Feeling somewhat pleased, I lay down beside her, watching her until sleep overtakes me as well.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** Hello everyone! I had a surprising amount of fun writing young Terra. Originally I was only going to have Xemnas talk about the memory, but decided that would be no fun. I hope everyone enjoyed this. Any reviews are always welcome, of course. :)


	6. Chapter Six: Stolen

Chapter Six: Stolen

I wake suddenly to the sound of an alarm blaring, my eyes fly wide as my heart starts beating hard against my ribcage. It takes me several minutes to make any sense of anything around me. All the more confused when Xemnas sits up beside me, equally startled. Looking down I see my fingers locked with his. Did I...fall asleep in his room? As he smiles sideways at me a blush rises into my face. He gets to his feet, taking his hand from mine and runs his fingers through his hair hastily before heading for the door. He pulls it open.

"I'm going to see what's going on," he says, before disappearing out of it.

I follow. The sun is clearly not entirely up yet. No wonder I still feel so sleepy. I run after Xemnas, slipping on the way as I left my shoes in my room, I wonder what breach of security could have caused them to sound an alarm. Looking through an open doorway, Xemnas quickly veers inside. I follow. And see Ienzo and Even are inside, as well as Ventus, his hair far more wild than usual from sleep.

"What's going on?" Xemnas asks in commanding tones.

The scientist, Even, glares at him in response. "Someone has broken into this castle."

I frown, going over to the monitor that is occupying all of Ienzo's attention, and which Ven is squinting at. As I watch Ienzo changing screens, I see a portal closing and Aeleus and Dilan racing up to the spot it was just in. Ienzo sits back hard in his seat, his expression one of great frustration. Even rounds on Xemnas.

"It was you, wasn't it? You let your little friends in here," he accuses.

I look back over at Xemnas. He wouldn't do that would he? I frown, perhaps he would. Even if he did seem okay with joining our side. He doesn't even glance at Even, as though the accusation means nothing at all to him. Instead he looks at Ienzo.

"Did they take the armor?" he asks simply.

It's Ventus who answers his question. "Yeah...they did."

I meet his eye worriedly before looking over at Xemnas. Did he let them in? I would love to trust him, but it would be foolish to blindly. Ienzo gets up from his chair as Aeleus and Dilan enter; each of the apprentices glares at Xemnas. He looks between with a frown.

"I did not let them in. I haven't been in contact with them," Xemnas says. When they seem uncertain, he sighs. "Check the security tape then, I am not lying to you."

Aeleus does just that, quickly winding it back. I turn back to the screen, as does everyone else. Xemnas comes up beside me to see as well. Aeleus suddenly moves his hand back as two hooded figures come through a portal in the basement. He begins flipping tapes to follow their ascent into the castle. Upon reaching the room with the armor, one pulls out a Keyblade and unlocks the door. As soon as it's opened the other shoots a powerful bolt of electricity on the armor and they drag it through another portal just as Aeleus and Dilan run up. So Xemnas didn't help them get in, that's a relief.

Ienzo crosses his arms, looking over at Xemnas. "My apologies... But this is strange, up until now none of the organization have tried to come here."

"I have...many times," Xemnas says. Everyone but Ven and I, glare at him, and he sighs. "I knew how to avoid the cameras, and I never once disturbed you. I only came as I always have." He looks at Ienzo as he says it, and a look of dawning appears in the latter's eyes.

"Great, after all the trouble we went through to secure it too." Even scowls.

"There's no use worrying over that now. I'll contact the others to let them know. They will have to look for it again," Ienzo says with a sigh. He bends back over the computer and begins typing away.

* * *

I leave the castle with Xemnas and Ven. The morning sun shines brightly in my face, forcing me to look at the ground directly in front of me as I walk. It's several minutes before I notice that Ven's trailing behind. Xemnas notices about the same time as me. He backtracks and starts walking beside him. I stop walking until they catch up and walk along on Ventus's other side.

"What's the matter?" Xemnas inquires.

Ven's expression is one of frustration when he looks up. He sighs, hands balled into fists.

"I just, don't know how we're going to be able to rescue Terra now," he says at last.

I look up at Xemnas in time to see that same anger that always flashes before his eyes when Terra's mentioned. I was hopeful he was getting used to the idea that he is basically Terra. Especially after he spoke fondly of Terra and my meeting, referring to Terra as himself. But I guess it's not that simple.

His eyes soften slightly as he addresses Ven. "So long as he doesn't lose yours and Aqua's belief in him...it's inevitable that he will come back." He's quiet for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. "You both mean the world to him."

I smile at his kindness. But I can't help but notice that his tone is sad. It truly is something he thinks is inevitable, but it's apparent that he dreads Terra's return. I suppose I can understand that. If I were in his shoes, I probably would be as well.

Ven frowns. "Not if they find a way to destroy that armor."

Xemnas looks upwards. "I'll be surprised if they can. And second of all, this Terra is stubborn. He'll find his way back to you both."

"I'm not so sure," Ventus says, looking up at him.

Xemnas doesn't say anything for awhile, but when he does the corner mouth turning up into a smile; an expression that always belonged to Terra. "When you really need him...he'll be there. In fact, I think nothing could keep him away."

This is somewhat odd to listen to. Xemnas assuring Ventus that Terra will come back. It brings a smile to my face.

"Thanks...Xemnas," Ven says. Something in Xemnas's last assurance must have struck a cord within him. "...You really do have his heart."

Ventus walks on ahead as Xemnas slows, and seeing the latter's frown, I match my pace to his.

"Thanks for cheering him up, Xemnas," I say. And he really did. Ventus is now grinning as he talks to an elderly duck selling ice cream. I grin; I remember that duck.

"Of course," Xemnas replies, his tone flat. Seeing my worried glance he forces a smile at me.

Ventus runs back over, offering us some multi-colored ice cream. I take mine, looking it over cautiously. It doesn't look very appetizing... I look over to see Xemnas eyeing his as well, he meets my eye and chuckles, biting into his. At first he makes a slightly odd face but then takes another bite.

"Quite good...though I can't identify the flavors," Xemnas tells me.

We walk aimlessly through the town before settling in the outskirts of it by a water fountain. Ventus leans his elbows on it while I join Xemnas on one of four surrounding benches.

"...You went to get tea," I say, a sudden thought occurring to me. "Is that the only place you went?"

He scowls, looking over at me slowly. His eyes look hurt, but I can't tell if it's exaggerated or not.

"Yes I only went to get tea. In fact your cup is still on the bedside table, though I imagine it's rather cold by now," Xemnas says, tossing his half-eaten ice cream into a trash can over his shoulder. "...I was not lying when I said I didn't let those organization members inside...you saw the security footage. Even though I would like that armor and everything to do with Terra to disappear."

"...You were just assuring Ventus that Terra would come back though," I say, still keeping my voice low enough so that it doesn't reach Ven.

When he turns his gaze to me again I'm surprised to not find anger there, but rather a sorrow that seems to run deep within him.

"So you think I _want_ him to come back? No Aqua, I intend to do everything in my power to keep him _from_ coming back," Xemnas tells me.

He is so confusing. One minute he sounds just like Terra and the next Xehanort. Then he's angry, then he's sad. At times he even seems to have no emotion. Seeing my troubled expression he surprises me by scoffing, though his eyes soften.

"...I am no fool Aqua. I know what is likely to happen to me if he comes back," Xemnas tells me. "Not to mention the fact that you and Ventus, will forget about me."

"We wouldn't forget about you," I say.

"Well, not in the literal sense of the word, but otherwise yes," he says. "...Looks like you have a visitor."

He sits back, crossing his arms and I look back over my shoulder. The girl I see walking back towards us is not who I was expecting might be coming out here. I'm not honestly sure who I was expecting... Though she's much older I recognize her right away. Kairi. She smiles excitedly when she meets my eye.

"Kairi," I greet with a smile. Ventus walks over from the water fountain curiously but Xemnas remains on the bench, watching us.

"Hello, Master Aqua and Ventus, right?" she says; when we both nod she grins. "Nice to meet you both!"

I laugh slightly. "We have met Kairi. But it was a long time ago, I'm not surprised if you don't remember."

By her puzzled expression it's clear that she doesn't. Besides her age, she hasn't changed much. It's clear that her heart is still made up of light.

"Oh... I'm afraid I can't stay long, I just came to see you both," Kairi says. "I have to get back to training."

"Training?" Ventus asks, grinning. "Are you a Keyblade wielder too then?"

She nods happily. "Yes I am." Her eyes fall on Xemnas and she gasps, looking up at me with alarm. "What's he doing here?"

I frown. "You've met him?"

Xemnas finally gets off of the bench and walks up beside me, his brow furrowed. Kairi takes a step back, looking slightly fearful.

"Yes we have met. The girl is best friends with Sora," Xemnas tells me. She is? I smile. "My apologies for before Kairi. I trust Sora and Riku are doing well?"

She doesn't answer him, looking between Ventus and I. "You guys trust him?"

Ven meets my eyes. I don't think either one of us are certain at this point. But if we don't say that we do... He doesn't want Terra to come back, but I suppose in his frame of mind, I can't blame him. Do I trust him not to betray us? I smile at her.

"Yes."

* * *

I walk down through the halls of the castle. I've gotten into the habit when I can't sleep, of wandering around. Probably a result of all the time I spent in the Realm of Darkness. There isn't much else to do there.

Nearing the room with the computers and security cameras from earlier I peek inside. Ienzo is inside, sitting cross-legged in a chair with a stack of papers in his lap. Aeleus is also inside, he's looking through security tapes. As soon I step past the threshold they both look over at me. Aeleus immediately goes back to what he was doing while Ienzo smiles in greeting.

"Hello Aqua, is everything all right?" he inquires. When I nod he goes on. "It's good you're here, actually, there was something I was going to mention to you."

"What is it?" I ask, still standing in the doorway.

He evens out the papers before dropping them onto the desk next to Aeleus. "About your friend, Terra that is. I have many different theories on ways to get Terra's heart to once again regain control over his body."

He has my full attention. "Is it possible without the armor?"

He nods. "Yes, quite. The easiest on Terra, or Xemnas's body, would be to trigger Terra into taking back his body once more. Probably in some manner similar to whatever triggered Terra's heart to waken inside him. The armor's will, would, if my theory is correct, join with Terra again. So my suggestion to you for now, would be to treat him as though he were Terra, but don't anger him in doing so. Also do steer clear of things that would remind him of Xehanort. Get Ventus to help too. At the very least this may save Terra's heart."

I nod. "Okay, that I can do. Thank you, Ienzo."

He smiles slightly. "Anything else I can do for you?" When I shake my head no, he watches me a moment before frowning. "If you're having troubles sleeping, I have some sleeping pills."

I start to shake my head no, that I don't need them, but I stop myself, smiling instead. "Yes that would be nice."

He gets me one and I leave, heading back up to my room. Once there I lay down, covering my eyes with my arm, waiting for the pleasant realm that is sleep, to overtake me.


	7. Chapter Seven: Going Out

Chapter Seven: Going Out

I grab a few tea leaves and drop them into my cup of hot water before sitting beside Ven in the breakfast nook. My friend is yawning every few moments, his eyes only half open. I smile; he really is a hopeless sleepy head. I take a sip of my tea, instantly regretting it because of the still too hot liquid. Xemnas enters, looking wide awake and ready for whatever the day might bring. He smiles at Ven and I before grabbing one of the breakfast plates that Aeleus put out for everyone. He sits down beside me and starts eating. Dilan walks in, grabs a plate, and leaves again without so much as a good morning.

As I take another sip of my tea, Ventus lifts his plate and walks off, muttering something about seeing what Ienzo is up to. Nearly as soon as he's out of sight Xemnas turns to me.

"Aqua, I was wondering if I could persuade you to go out with me?"

I freeze, barely avoiding choking on my tea. I look at him in shock, to find him smiling, with an almost smug look on his face. Maybe I misheard him...

"What?" I ask, my voice coming out higher pitched than I was intending.

He smirks at me. "I'll rephrase slightly; will you go out with me this evening?"

I grip my cup tighter, my knuckles turning white as my face burns. "Y—you mean as a date?"

He frowns ever so slightly. "Yes."

I fight the urge to make up an excuse, any excuse, to flee the room. Where has this come from all of a sudden? A million thoughts fly through my head a I fight to find a response. I wonder if perhaps there were hints of this coming all along. The way he sometimes gaze at me eerily, how he likes to touch my cheek in greeting... I close my eyes briefly. How could I have been so blind?

I see him still awaiting my reply, twirling a spoon in his cup without looking at it. I get up, letting out a breath, partly to relax and partly from frustration with this situation.

"No...I'm sorry," I say, forcing myself to meet his now incredulous gaze.

He gets to his feet, frowning. "Why not?"

I blush and look away. There's no way he would understand my reasoning... I back up towards the doorway.

"It's just...there's—a lot going on right now, and I...can't," I say, fumbling over my words as I finally do make a quick be-line out of the kitchen.

I stare into the blue depths of my wayfinder, clutching it tightly in my hand. I sigh for what is quite possibly the hundredth time today. I wish I had been better prepared for Xemnas's question. I also wonder why he was so sure I would agree. My reasoning was rather silly. But I've had this fantasy since I was quite young, that Terra would be my first date. This thought has kept me from saying yes to anyone else. Which is, in its self, quite silly; because why would he ask me? I never gave him any indication that I wanted him to. And I know he's mentioned other girls that he has liked. Girl's he would like to take out if we ever had any free time from training. I chuckle darkly. If I was smart I suppose I should have taken Xemnas up on his offer, he basically _is_ Terra.

Ienzo said I should treat him as I would Terra... I frown, looking down at my wayfinder once more before pocketing it. I hope I don't end up regretting this... Leaving my room I walk purposefully to Xemnas's door. I hesitate only briefly before knocking.

"Come in."

I open the door slowly and it takes me a moment to spot him. Stepping inside fully, I at last see him sitting in the window, staring out over the town. His face is reflected in the glass as he looks over at me; our eyes meet and he smiles.

"Hello, my friend," he says pleasantly, turning to face me. "What can I do for you?"

I don't quite meet his gaze as I respond. "I came to accept your offer...I'm sorry I didn't earlier."

"Are you certain?" he asks, clearly surprised. When I nod, he smiles, crossing the room in a couple meaningful strides. "I am very pleased to hear it. Come, we should only just be able to make it. I apologize but we missed the dinner reservation I made earlier."

He made a dinner reservation? He certainly didn't hold back in trying to make this a full blown date. I follow him from his room and he leads me down through the castle quickly, keeping silent until we reach a lower level. He takes me over to the area he did once before, and slips a disc into a slot on the computer, same as he did before. He proceeds to type some secret code. I wonder what purpose going down here has? However, I follow him down into the dark depths without comment. At last we reach the same sealed room as before. He enters into it and I follow.

"Go on take it," he tells me, referring to my armor. "Besides, you'll need it between worlds."

I smile at him before lifting the helmet, and touching the piece that puts my armor away. It vanishes in a flash of light. Now he really smiles. Still looking at me he holds out his palm, opening up a portal. He pulls his hood up and steps into it. Forcing myself to regard this whole thing optimistically, I follow, putting on my armor first. He walks slowly through the corridor, clearly not worried about running into anyone like Xehanort. I match my pace with his.

"Where are we going?" I ask with a smile. One he clearly can't see behind my mask.

He smiles slightly and keeps walking. "I think you will enjoy it, but we're cutting the time close."

Right when I'm tempted to ask again, he walks into another world gesturing with a finger that I follow him. I do so. I'm getting curious now. We step out in an alleyway of sorts which Xemnas proceeds to walk out of quickly. I follow, and understand why we entered from a remote spot. Adults and children run to and fro, shouting to one another with excitement. All wear coats even though it's a perfect temperature outside. Xemnas pulls down his hood one-handedly, shaking his long hair free from it as he walks up to a storefront where someone is selling long sandwiches. He gives the guy munny for two and then hands me one before immediately heading off across the way.

"Eat, we're running out of time," he tells me over his shoulder. He speeds his pace as he rounds a corner onto an even busier street.

I hurry after him, taking a bite as instructed while dodging a few kids running by, they're closely followed by a snowman the same size as them. Strange...but I've seen weirder things. Xemnas pulls open a door to a small shop and lets me go inside first. It's a nice little store, with lots of winter clothes and some other supplies. Xemnas lifts a long coat and looks it up and down before setting it on a countertop where a tall man stood. His back to me, he grabs a couple other things and also puts them on the counter. He lifts up three remaining coats and looks at me.

"Which would you like?"

I look at them briefly. "The...violet colored one."

"Good decision," he tells me with a smile and quickly buys them both.

He slips his coat overtop of his organization coat. Well, with all of the kids running around with coats too it must be going to get cold at some point. I slip mine on as well, taking another bite of the surprisingly good sandwich, made all the better since I didn't eat much of a lunch and no dinner yet.

Once out of the shop, Xemnas starts making his way towards what I originally thought was a mansion, but now appears much too big and grand to be one. It must be a castle. I'm surprised when he leads me directly into the courtyard, but with all of the people gathered around I suppose it's allowed? He walks through the crowd until he reaches a large water fountain, here he leans against it and sets the remains of his sandwich on the side. He lifts up the others things he bought finally; two pairs of ice skates. I laugh slightly.

"What are we going to do with those?" I ask, leaning against the water fountain beside him.

He hands me a pair. "Skate."

Still chuckling slightly I start lacing my pair up. Beside me, Xemnas does the same as he turns his gaze over towards the castles doors. The doors open and two soldiers step out, followed by someone who can only be the queen and perhaps her sister? There's definitely a familial resemblance. The queen steps into the middle of the courtyard, not too far from Xemnas and I, with a grin she raises her hands and the fountain behind us freezes. A gasp escapes me and I bump into Xemnas by accident, he only smiles as suddenly the ground is covered in ice. I see now... It takes me only a brief moment to find my balance on my skates. I smile at Xemnas, unable to help myself, and he returns it.

"I trust you still like skating?" Xemnas asks.

So he remembers more of Terra's past. And the many times we skated together. Hmm...since he has Terra's body, I wonder... I watch cautiously when he pushes off from the wall. He only makes it a couple feet before falling on his side. I laugh, skating over to him, and he stares at me incredulously as he tries to get to his feet. Reaching him I hold out my hand.

"You always were a hopeless skater," I say as he grabs my hand and uses it to help himself up. He doesn't quite meet my eye, showing his embarrassment.

* * *

 **Memory: Aqua's Point of View**

"Come on Terra, you almost had it," I said. "Just try again."

I skated over to where my best friend had fallen once more, this time getting a mouthful of snow. I was trying so hard not to laugh, even so I couldn't help myself. Terra's always so good at everything, so sure of himself, that seeing him even after skating for an hour, still keep falling every few minutes is funny. Upon reaching him I hold out my hand, which he didn't hesitate to grab, pulling himself to his feet. I kept ahold of his hands until we were in the middle of the frozen lake.

"Okay now, just balance," I said, letting go and skating energetically in a circle around him.

He held his hands away from his body. When he staid on his feet he grinned at me, before then frowning in a teasing way. "How come you're so good at this exactly? Are you sure this is your first time?"

I laughed in response. "Yes. How come you're so bad at this?"

He chuckled, playfully giving me a shove. However he made too sharp a motion and sent us both crashing to the ice. He tried to get to his feet then seemed to think better of it and crawled over to me.

"You okay? I'm sorry Aqua," he said. "I didn't expect to slip."

He's conscious as ever of not being rough. He's hardly changed at all from when I first met him five years ago. Apart from the deeper voice, height and overall confidence he now seemed to have but was lacking before. Five years? It's crazy how fast that time has flown by. I can't imagine life without him now.

"It's okay, Terra," I said.

He smiled when I started laughing upon noticing his snow covered hair. Getting up on my knees I brushed some of the snow out of it, and he smiled in response. I helped him up and we skated over to the edge of the ice. He sat down in the snow and I joined him, wrapping my coat more firmly around me.

"I'm really glad you're my friend Aqua," he said suddenly, staring up at the clouds darting past the moon. "Not sure I've ever told you this, but you're the first friend I've actually ever had."

I stared at him in shock. "Really?"

He looked away, his bangs falling into his face. Was something bothering him? When he looked past my shoulder, there was a faint sign of tears in his eyes. My own eyes widened.

"Terra?" I laid my hand on his arm and he blinks, meeting my eye. "Are you okay?"

"Aqua...what was your family like?" he asked.

"I just had my mom and dad, and they were pretty normal I guess," I said, taken aback. "Why the sudden interest?"

He shrugged, looking down at the snow. "Oh I dunno. I guess, I was just curious."

I've always been curious about his family, but I know better by now then to ask him anything else about them. All I know, and this makes me envy him ever so slightly, is that some of them are still alive. I don't know how many family members are, but at least one of his parents. Why he doesn't visit them, I don't know. But I hoped he would get to someday. He must have missed them greatly.

"Sorry it took me so long. You got tired of skating I take it?"

I jumped, looking over my shoulder. Master Eraqus stood directly behind me, holding a drink holder with three mugs in it. Terra's on his feet in an instant, a smile on his face. I get to my feet beside him.

"No problem Master Eraqus," he said, taking one of the drinks from the master.

I do as well, still watching my friend worriedly as I take a sip. I wouldn't know that he was still sad if it weren't for the fact that there was still a deep sorrow behind his blue eyes.

"Well then, lets finish these and head back," Master Eraqus said, also glancing at Terra oddly. When Terra looked down at his drink, the master glanced at me, raising an eyebrow in question. When I shrug, equally worried, he only smiles. "Come, let's go into town."

* * *

 **Aqua's Point of View: Present**

"You mean Terra was?" Xemnas says, snapping my attention back to the present. His hands are still in mine, his eyes staring into the depths of my own. I look back at him, trying to figure out if this will make him angry, his tone had been dull, as if it contained no emotions. Which as I come to know Xemnas better can often mean concealed anger. Which I guess might be better than just blatant anger...

"Come on, I'll help you," I say with a smile, slowly skating backwards.

As he follows along carefully, I get the feeling he's going to catch on quicker than Terra did. Actually, Terra never really caught on at all. Even though we went many times when the Master had business in that world each year.

Almost an hour later and Xemnas seems to understand the basics, only falling on occasion. Usually when someone else races by him. This time when he falls I can't help but laugh at his frustrated expression. He scowls at me before chuckling himself. When he gets to his feet we both watch as the ice begins changing colors. I smile, watching the brilliant show. It's awhile before I notice Xemnas staring at me. He does that a lot, it's unnerving. I look up at him.

"Are you having fun?" he asks, touching my cheek with the lightest of touches.

I touch the hand that's still lingering on my cheek lightly before dropping it. "Yes, thank you, for bringing me here."

He grins in response to this. The first time I've actually seen him grin. It makes him look even more like Terra, with his eyes filled with happiness. I look down, to find that the ice is no longer changing colors. Everyone cheers around me, and following in their example I clap. Xemnas does as well. And the ice disappears suddenly. It drops us on the ground, a very small drop, but it enough to send Xemnas sprawling on the ground again. He glares at the ground and I burst out laughing. Sitting beside him I begin unlacing my skates and he quickly does the same. Most likely happy to be rid of them. Once we both have our shoes back on he puts the skates over his shoulder, pulls his organization hood up and then holds out his hand towards me with a small smile. I can't help but hesitate to put mine in his, frowning. Noticing, Xemnas starts to pull his hand back but I grab it before he can. We head back towards the same alleyway as before, with Xemnas clearly taking his time. It begins snowing around us, sending children bouncing around us with excitement. I smile at them. How nice it would be, to be a child again, without a care in the world...

Reaching the alley, Xemnas holds out the hand that isn't holding mine and opens a portal. I put on my armor and walk with him into its depths. He again takes his time walking through the swirling depths.

"Yes?" I ask.

"Did you get enough to eat? We were interrupted," he says.

I take off my armor as soon as we step out into Radiant Garden. He pulls down his hood still watching me.

I smile. "I'm good don't worry. Thanks for taking me...out."

He smiles, almost smirks by my hesitancy to say the last word. I chuckle, seeing all of the snow on his shoulders and coat. I brush off one of his shoulders, and he does the same for my hair. We walk inside the quiet castle. It's almost pitch black inside and seemingly empty. Taking off my coat I walk up towards my room, hearing Xemnas's boots behind me. I quickly become aware of the fact that his eyes are watching me in the darkness again. We reach the door to his room and I turn to smile at him.

"Goodnight Xemnas, thanks again," I say. "I hope you had fun too."

Xemnas nods, stepping towards me. "Of course I did."

I'm glad to hear that. I was worried with as many times as he kept falling that he wasn't having fun. With one last smile at him I turn around and start walking towards my own room. A moment later and I hear Xemnas striding towards me. Surprise causes me to step back into the wall when he walks all of the way up to me. He grabs one of my hands in his before bringing his face down to mine. A million thoughts flood my mind, but before I can react in any way, he's kissing me. His lips hardly gentle as they move against mine. What's more is even though there's a place in the back of my mind that wants to push him away, I can't make myself. My hand that isn't in his becomes tangled in his long hair. I lean against him, trying and failing to suppress a feeling of joy and odd unwillingness to let this end. What's wrong with me? He isn't even really Terra. Not exactly, anyway. And then it's over. Xemnas pulls back sharply, looking into the darkness. I suddenly realized why he moved, hearing a noise in the direction he's staring.

"Who's there?" he calls softly.

At first I can't tell who it is, but when he passes over a swath of moonlight I see his face. Even. He scowls, glaring first at Xemnas and than I.

"This is not a 'make-out hall.' If you must, then take it behind closed doors children," Even tells us, seemingly genuinely irritated.

"Why thank you for the clarification, Even. But none of us here are children," Xemnas says cooly. "Besides I didn't think anyone would be over this way."

"Yes well, my room is directly over there, I just finished with an experiment—" Even says, seeming to stop himself from saying anything more. "Goodnight."

A chuckle escapes me, because of Even's incredulous expression and Xemnas's distinctly irritated one. Even pays me no heed, simply walking into his own room and letting the door shut loudly behind him. Xemnas looks surprised at me, but he chuckles slightly as well.

My thoughts turn serious as I gaze at him. What exactly was I thinking? His eyes, in their typical amber color gaze back at me, reminding me again how he's half Xehanort. Why does what just happened feel like a betrayal of Terra? It's not like he was waiting for me. He never once in my memory, hinted that he thought of me as anything besides a friend, or perhaps a sister.

"Goodnight, Aqua," Xemnas says, breaking me from my thoughts. He strokes my cheek gently with a smile, his eyes filled with happiness, before walking back towards his room.

As soon as I hear his door shut I lean back against the wall shakily. Pulling the wayfinder from my pocket. I can't help but think that things have just become even more complicated. Perhaps nothing more so than the ever swirling thoughts in my own head.


	8. Chapter Eight: Unease

Chapter Eight: Unease

I open my eyes just as lightning flashes outside of my window. Dark storm clouds are brewing outside. Sitting up, I can't figure out what woke me. It seems that this has happened quite often lately. I look over towards my door and am surprised to see Xemnas walking towards me. The door opening must have been what woke me up. I smile in greeting when he sits down in front of me.

"Good morning Aqua," he says.

Reaching out, he runs a finger down my cheek. He leans in close. I realize what he's about to do just in time to gently push him backwards. Why? Because I can't help but see him as Terra. The whole situation is strange, and though I find myself wanting to go along with this, I refuse to.

He sits back sharply, his eyes are cold with a touch of hurt. Whether his feelings truly are that hurt or not, I don't know. I can't let myself forget that he still has Xehanort's heart within him. Remembering what Ienzo said, as well as genuinely not wanting to hurt his feelings, I gently place my hand against his cheek. The hurt remains in his eyes but the coldness is gone, now replaced with bewilderment.

"Why don't you want me to kiss you?" he asks, catching me by surprise from his bluntness on the subject. "Am I wrong in assuming that our date went well? That you...kissed me back yesterday before Even so rudely interrupted us?"

Heat rises into my cheeks as I become aware of Xemna's close proximity to me. I blink, dropping my hand from his face. Even when I tear my gaze from his, his eyes never leave my face.

"I..." It was one of those moments in life that you can't fully explain I guess. Not that I can use that as a reason to Xemnas.

When I fail to continue he frowns. "Do you dislike me Aqua?"

I shake my head quickly. "No, of course I don't dislike you. In fact, I like you a lot."

After watching me for a couple more moments, he gets to his feet abruptly, pacing my room. I swing my feet out of bed, putting my shoes on. Just when I'm finishing he turns towards me again, crossing the room in a couple meaningful strides. He sits down on the bed beside me, his eyes boring into mine.

"Aqua, I have spent almost every waking moment of my existence trying to find out more about you. Trying to figure out where you were. And how I could rescue you. You have basically been my life. If I had any experience in understanding the word, I would say that I love you... I can tell that you're frightened of me Aqua, at least to some degree. I know you're uncertain what to think of me. Have I done anything however to offend you? Or upset you in any way?" he says, touching my hair.

And he has been around for over ten years... I smile softly at him. "That's...really sweet, Xemnas. I just don't think right now is a good time to enter into any kind of relationship."

He scowls at me. "Why not? And I know you've never actually been in a relationship, so what makes you think so?"

That's right, he has been gaining more of Terra's memories. I look down at my hands. A reality is slowly taking grip on my heart... But I refuse to fall for this man, whoever he is exactly now. Most likely I'm just feeling this way because he's been acting more like Terra. He basically is Terra. This is completely confusing... But how do I answer his question exactly? I shouldn't make him too angry, but... I sigh, meeting his eye.

"Well, to be honest you confuse me. Sometimes you're so much like Xehanort. Other times you seem just like Terra," I say. "As for why I think so, Ventus and I, we have to rescue Terra. And then I'm sure the three of us will have to fight Xehanort once and for all."

Xemnas removes his hand from my face. "The three of you... Rescue Terra... What may I ask will become of me if you succeed?"

I should have known better. I shouldn't have mentioned anything. What was I thinking? He gets to his feet and strolls over to the door. His hand on the doorknob, he turns back to glare at me.

"Never mind, that was a foolish question," he says bitterly.

Leaving the room, he lets the door shut loudly behind him. I lift my wayfinder, staring into it. What will happen to him exactly? Will it be as if he died? Or could he and Terra possibly split off from each other? Or is there some other option? Without Terra's heart, I wonder if he would simply be an empty shell, or someone who is purely evil with only a piece of Xehanort's heart. I debate following him, but perhaps it is just best to let him blow off some steam for a little while before finding him. Not following him will also give me time to figure out what to do next.

Getting to my feet I stand in front of the window, placing my hand against the cool glass. The sound of the rain calms my thoughts and I stand there until my door bursts open. I turn, expecting to see Xemnas. Instead I'm surprised to see Ventus. His eyes are worried when they meet mine.

"Aqua, have you seen Xemnas? I've been looking everywhere for him. He's not in the castle," Ven says, sounding as though he has just been running. "The apprentices and I have been looking for him since he refused to let Even run a test on him."

Even...that man clearly has the worst timing in the world. I pocket my wayfinder, glancing back towards the window. I bite my lip, turning towards Ven.

"Maybe he just went to take a walk. I think he likes this world," I say, forcing myself to smile reassuringly.

"I dunno Aqua, he looked really upset and angry. Ienzo's wondering if he went to find Xehanort," Ven tells me.

I sigh, walking towards Ventus. "Okay, let's go find him."

Ventus leads the way down my hall and all the way to the front door. We pass Even and Dilan speaking as we leave. Even yells something after us but neither of us pause to listen. Once outside in the pouring rain, Ven races ahead of me.

"Let's split up, I'll look around the area and go into town this way. You go to the far side of town," Ven says, racing off as soon as I nod in reply.

I hurry into the town, passing few people walking the streets in this downpour. The few who are, look at me incredulously, most likely from my lack of coat or umbrella. I make my way quickly for the outskirts of town, winding through streets. He wouldn't have just gone back to join Xehanort's cause would he?

My eyes fly wide and I stop upon seeing a familiar man before me. Master Xehanort stands with his back to me, staring up into the rain. How I could tell it was him so quickly, I'm not entirely sure, since he's wearing one of the long black coats with the hood pulled up. He seems to quickly become aware of my presence and turns to face me. A scowl is on his face, one that quickly turns into a smirk. I glare at him, pulling out my Keyblade without hesitation.

"Where's Xemnas?" I ask.

"Oh I'm not here to fight you girl. Xemnas is safe from _me_ as well...for now. On the contrary, it is Terra who is in danger," Xehanort tells me. When he steps closer I tighten my grip on my Keyblade, glaring at him.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

His cold eyes meet mine. "Terra's heart will soon be extinguished. Smothered by Xemnas's own heart which his body seems to be making."

My eyebrows furrow together. "I already knew that could happen."

Xehanort smiles as though he's thoroughly enjoying himself. "But did you know that it's already happening? That Terra's heart is already disappearing? And once his heart is completely gone, there's no bringing him back...not ever."

No...it doesn't sound like he has much time. "Did you just come here to tell me that?"

He chuckles softly. "No of course not. I came to speak with Xemnas, though he appears in a particularly foul mood. Your time Aqua, to save Terra is running very short. And growing shorter by each passing minute." He opens a portal and walks into it.

How am I supposed to rescue Terra...if I don't even know how to? The only method I currently have to go on is Ienzo's. Which is easy enough, Xemnas reminds me of Terra. And Xemnas and I have even become friends on some level. I let my Keyblade vanish into the air as a tear roles down my cheek. The one tear is quickly followed by others. I _can't_ let anything happen to Terra.

I start walking again. Assuming that Xehanort being over this way means that Terra is as well. After walking for a short while I find myself in an area of the gardens with water flowing off of platforms and to the ground below. Easily the prettiest area of Radiant Garden, however this rain makes it appear gloomy. Relief grips my heart as I spot Xemnas standing a few feet from water jetting up to a platform above. The ground beneath my feet is covered in a foot of water. More than is usual from the heavy rain coming down.

"We were worried about you...Ven and I," I say, approaching him from behind.

He turns to face me, looking somewhat surprised to find me standing there. Partly to hide my tears, and partly from worry and sadness at a fate which could befall Terra. I step forward, leaning my cheek against his chest as more tears fall down my face, mixing with the rain from above. Without saying a word his arms envelop me and he holds me close. I slowly calm down, feeling strangely safe in his arms.

"Tell me...who upset you this much?" Xemnas says, his voice sounding harsh. When he speaks again it has softened. "If it was me then I am truly very sorry."

I lean back, intending to step out of his embrace but though his arms loosen, he only lets me far enough back for him to be able to wipe the tears from my face. I make myself smile.

"No it wasn't you. In fact, it's really nothing. I'm just being silly," I say with a slight laugh. I did my best to sound lighthearted.

He clearly doesn't believe me as he raises an eyebrow quizzically. "I'm certain that it is not nothing. I know that you aren't one to cry easily."

I become increasingly aware of the fact that his arms are still around me. "I just ran into Xehanort is all."

He scowls, and when I move to step back again he lets me easily. Though he reaches out to stroke my cheek with the lightest of touches.

"I have grown to despise that man. What exactly did he say to you?" he asks.

I shake my head, glancing back towards the town. "He was only trying to upset me. Come on, lets head back. Ven is still looking for you."

He follows me, matching my stride. I chance a glance up at him to find that his eyes are far away and unhappy. I am grateful he isn't asking me anything further about what Xehanort said. And I am beyond relieved to find that he didn't go rejoin Xehanort's organization.

"What did Xehanort have to say to you?" I ask as the thought hits me.

He frowns. "He had many motives I'm sure. But he said nothing of importance."

I sigh looking at the rain soaked ground. "There certainly has been a lot of 'nothing' going around hasn't there?"

He surprises me by laughing. "Yes indeed."

I smile. "I'm sorry for upsetting you Xemnas. I wasn't thinking."

He says nothing for a time, but after a moment I hear his footfalls come to a halt. When I turn around I see him looking up into the rain. He smiles at me.

"You only spoke the truth," he says, starting forward again.

I follow him, looking up at the sky. We're both silent as the rain picks up. Falling in sheets that make it hard to see further than ten feet in any direction. Which is why I don't notice that Xemnas has circled back behind me until he slips his black coat over my shoulders, pulling the hood up over my hair. He then begins walking beside me.

"There...the rain is freezing," he says with a smile.

I smile in return, before noticing that he now doesn't have a shirt of any kind. A blush rising into my cheeks, I look away embarrassedly. I think to argue the point of the coat with him but decide against it, there wouldn't be any point.

"Thanks."

At last we reach the other side of the town, nearing Ansem's castle. It doesn't take long to find Ven. He's coming around the side of the castle just as we walk up. He grins upon spotting us, running over. He, apparently being smarter than me, has his armor on so that he doesn't get drenched. However he pulls down his mask as we reach each other.

"Good, you found him!" Ven says. "Where did you go?"

"Only for a walk in the rain," Xemnas says cheerfully.

Ven stares at him incredulously. "While it's pouring this hard? Really?"

Xemnas smiles at him, ruffling Ven's hair as he walks past, much as Terra would do on occasion. "Yes, I find the sound relaxing."

I hand his coat back to him and follow he and Ventus into the castles warm interior. As the door slides shut behind us, Ienzo and Even appear around the corner. They proceed to walk towards us. They have opposite reactions, Ienzo smiles while Even scowls.

"There you three are," Even snaps. Striding up to Xemnas, he glares at him. "Now Xemnas, about those tests. I am going to insis—"

Xemnas interrupts him. "Fine, only let me dry off first."

He walks past me and disappears around the corner. Once his footsteps have faded, both Ienzo and Even turn to me.

"Aqua, we have located Terra's armor," Ienzo says, keeping his voice quiet. "I have already begun coming up with a plan. A plan to get inside its secret location and back out safely. We should be able to leave to find it at dawn. Then we'll have a back up plan to rescue Terra."

This is great news. Ven seems to agree with me as a smile spreads across his face. "Great! Where is it?"

"The Keyblade Graveyard, in a base of Xehanort's that has up until now, been kept a secret," Ienzo tells us. "I believe you are familiar with the world?"


	9. Chapter Nine: A Confrontation

**Authors Note:** Wow it's been forever. I deeply apologize for taking such a long to update this. A huge thank you to everyone that has read this story so far. :) I hope to update a bit faster next time.

Chapter Nine: A Confrontation

 **Xemnas's Point of View**

I stifle a yawn as I walk down through the castle on my way to kitchen the following morning. Even is a thoroughly disagreeable man, how many times he poked needles into me and ran tests I have truly lost count, as if I'm an unfeeling block of wood. I step into the kitchen expecting to see Aqua sitting at the table but she isn't there. The only person who is, in fact, is Ventus. He doesn't seem to notice me as he twirls a spoon in a coffee cup absentmindedly. Where is everyone? It isn't especially early. Frowning, I approach Ventus. He notices me when I put my hand on a chair beside him to pull it out. He jumps before smiling in greeting. He takes a large swallow out of his drink before setting it down on the table. I force my expression to remain the same as ever, feigning ignorance of his worry and nervousness in relation to me.

Ventus glances towards a window behind me. "Good morning."

I nod, heading over to a refrigerator instead of taking a seat. "Yes it is a good morning...where is Aqua?"

"She went into town with the apprentices. They'll be back by dinner, something about your lab tests I think," Ventus says.

A perfectly well-rehearsed answer. But I am not stupid. I take out a couple of eggs and empty the contents into a frying pan. I think over my next question carefully.

"They didn't take you?" I ask, glancing over at him to watch his expression. He shakes his head no with a frown.

"Even said it would take all day and that I probably wouldn't understand any of it, so I was wondering...how would you like to go outside and spar with me?" Ventus asks hopefully. "We can use these wooden swords I found or our own weapons if you would rather."

I remain silent as I scramble the eggs for a moment. I smile. "Of course."

Ventus visibly relaxes before grinning, finishing whatever was inside of his cup quickly. "Great! Wooden swords or real weapons?"

"Real weapons," I say after a minute. "I'm rather curious to see you in action. You were taught by the same man as Aqua...and Terra, correct?"

Ventus comes over and leans against the counter by the stove, he nods, watching as I continue scrambling the eggs. His gaze is far away, his eyes holding a trace of worry. This should be rather interesting. Apparently the apprentices, and Aqua as well, think I need a babysitter. Somehow, I do not get the feeling that Ventus is the best at "secret keeping".

He sits across from me as I eat, and as soon as I've eaten the last bite he hops to his feet, grinning.

"Let's go outside, it'll be easier out there," he says with false cheerfulness. I merely smile and nod.

We walk out onto the front pathway. I look up at the blue sky above, wondering when the sun came out from behind the clouds. I hear Ventus summon his Keyblade and turn my attention back onto him. He's looking at me with an odd determination that makes me lift an eyebrow from surprise. I summon my ethereal blades and fall into a fighting stance, beckoning him at me. He watches me calculating for several moments before running at me full force, I swing at him but he leaps past and swings at me from behind. I spin back towards him just in time, the blow of his Keyblade sends me staggering backwards and he uses the moment to try and land another attack against me. In the moment it takes me to start to move to block him he hesitates, clearly unwilling to actually hurt me. I take full advantage of this, swinging my weapons around to knock the Keyblade from his hands. It falls a few feet away, spinning against the smooth stone, he meanwhile stumbles and falls to his knees. He stares at me wide eyed as I straighten and turn, pointing the weapon in my left hand at his throat, a mere few inches away. He can no doubt feel the warmth emanating from the weapon. The uncertainty in his eyes slowly turns to fear. I look once again at the sky, sighing.

"Tell me Ventus...does Aqua love Terra?" I ask softly.

Ventus seems to balk at the question, he chuckles slightly. "I mean I guess you could say that we all love each other. We're all best friends. No, closer than that, we're family."

I scowl at him. "That wasn't my question."

"Oh...I think maybe. Yeah, I mean she did sometimes get weird around him. Blush and things...if that's what love is," Ven says after a time.

I put my weapons away and Ventus's shoulders hunch forward. I walk over to his Keyblade and pick it up, turning it this way and that. I glare at it, lifting it towards the sky.

"What about Terra?" I ask. "Did he love her?"

"No...I don't think so," Ventus says. "But maybe you could answer that question better than me...and why do you care?"

I hesitate before shaking my head to bring myself to my senses, I point the Keyblade towards Ventus before flipping it around and offering it to him. He looks at me curiously before taking it. I bend down so that we're on eye level with each other and tilt my head to the side.

"Where did she go? Aqua?" I ask.

Ventus looks startled. "I told you...she went into town with the others."

I shake my head angrily. "Don't bother lying to me. Where did she go? Your telling me could mean the difference between her living or dying."

Ventus sighs, defeated. "She went to get the armor."

I get back to my feet. I suspected as much. "Does she have any idea where it might be? Or is this a foolishly blind trip?"

Ventus doesn't answer, he gets to his feet and walk over to the front gate, staring beyond it into the town. I grow irritated and storm over to him, pushing him back against the gate.

"Where did she go Ventus?" I demand, eyes flashing. "The base in the Land or Departure or The World that Never Was?"

"Neither...she went to the Keyblade Graveyard," Ventus says.

I release him, horrified. "She has a good plan I hope? It's heavily guarded. Xehanort...if they know about the base, no doubt wants them to try something so foolish as trying to get the armor back. Come Ventus, we have to help her."

I open a portal and step through it and the sound of pounding feet lets me know that Ventus follows me. He runs in front of me and flings his arms out to either side as though he intends to stop me.

"What? Help them?" he asks.

"It has to be a trap. Xehanort, he has no use for her. He'll kill her," I tell him, hurrying past. "Help me or don't."

* * *

 **Aqua's Point of View**

I land in the Keyblade graveyard, staring around at all of the keys. I never wanted to come back here. Not after the last time I came, with Terra and Ven. All of the keys only act as a reminder of the Keyblade War. Dark times wait ahead, of that I am sure. I only hope I can face them with both Ventus and Terra at my side.

I follow Ienzo as he leads the way through the keys. The other apprentices follow behind me as I traverse through the almost endless rows of keys. I wonder how Ven is doing with Xemnas. Perhaps I should have stayed behind and let him go with them. But after our disagreements I think he may be more likely to handle Xemnas than I.

Ienzo leads us up through a pathway in the cliffs and I follow close behind up the steep incline. The wind kicks up as I wind my way up the cliff, brushing my bangs to the other side of my face. At last we reach an opening in the cliffs, the cave Ienzo spoke of. I follow him inside as he lights his palm with fire to provide a dim lighting and something to follow through the narrow depths of the cave. I walk carefully, aware of rocks and un-evenness on the path. Ienzo plods forward at a steady pace. After what seems like a very long time we reach the end of the path and it opens up into a huge circular room of sorts. Several lanterns hang on the walls illuminating all the way around the circle. In the very center is Terra's armor, which is chained down to the floor. The helmet moves upon our entry before moving back down into it's usual position. I look around the room cautiously before walking forward. Ienzo yells my name as a giant heartless appears in front of me. As I summon my Keyblade I look around, many more heartless are appearing, forming a circle around the apprentices and I. They number more than I can count. A laugh sounds from across the room and Braig appears, walking out from behind a column. He smirks as I glare at him.

"Really? Did you really think it would be _that_ simple?" he asks, tone dripping with sarcasm.

My attention is ripped from him as a heartless pounces towards me. I swing my Keyblade at it and it fades to darkness when my blow connects. I spin in a whirl as more heartless of varying sorts descend upon me. After a few minutes I find myself beside Ienzo, we stand back to back, fighting off the horde of heartless. Just when the numbers appear to be dwindling I hear a portal opening from behind me. I spin around, watching as Xehanort steps through.

"My, my, Aqua," he says, shaking his head as if with pity. "It wasn't very intelligent coming here. I need the armor you see, it needs to bend to my will. I cannot very well have you steal it from me," Xehanort says, with a scowl.

"I will never let that happen," I say. "I will never let you hurt my friends again."

"But for you Aqua, _never,_ may come sooner than you think."

A grin spreads across Xehanort's face as he lifts his hands skyward. Nobodies begin popping up, followed by more heartless. Xehanort summons his Keyblade, shooting dark balls of energy at me. I summon a shield, and the dark energy evaporates on contact. I counter by shooting beams of light at him, but he deflects them with a mere flick of his wrist. I dart forward, hoping to catch him off guard, but he sees me coming long before I get to him. My Keyblade hits his, the force nearly knocking me back, I push my weight forward, retaining my balance. But I've forgotten about Braig. I hear his arrow guns fire and spin away from the sound on instinct. One hits me in the shoulder, causing me to gasp from the pain. I grip my shoulder as I leap back, keeping a good grip on my Keyblade. Xehanort advances from my right with his Keyblade as Braig takes aim once more. There's no way he'll miss, he has too good of a shot. They fully intend to kill me. I bite my lip and spring to the side as the arrowguns fire. They miss me but now I'm right next to Xehanort and before I can regain my footing he's swinging the Keyblade down towards my chest. I close my eyes. So this is how my life will end. No, this wasn't supposed to happen. I have to save Terra and defeat Xehanort. The blow never comes and I open my eyes. I stare from surprise. Xemnas stands in front of me, blocking Xehanort's blow with ease. With a quick movement he flings Xehanort backwards, and the old man stumbles back a few steps, slightly winded. Xemnas backs towards me and I see Ventus helping out Aeleus who is surrounded by heartless.

"You're wounded," Xemnas says, his eyes never straying from Xehanort as he addresses me. "Is it serious?"

I smile at him, although with his back turned I know he doesn't see me. "I'll be all right... Why did you come?"

Now he does look at me, just a brief glance. "...To help you. It was foolish to come without me, I could have helped. Perhaps after this you will trust me."

He leaps towards Xehanort and they become a flurry of weapons as the old man struggles to keep up with Xemnas's faster reflexes. At last he pins Xehanort against the wall, putting one of his weapons an inch from the old mans neck. I glance around to find that the tables have at last started to turn as Ienzo runs after Braig, Aeleus and Even take down ten heartless in the blink of an eye while Dilan demolishes a giant heartless.

"You've lost," I tell Xehanort, slowly walking over to he and Xemnas.

Xehanort's eyes flick over to me and he glares. "For now." A portal opens up behind him and he backs into it silently, it closes after him.

Xemnas turns towards me, his eyes search mine before he pulls me into a tight hug. I start to lean my head against his chest but he steps back before I can, smiling at me.

"I was worried that I wouldn't get here in time," he says.

I return his smile. "Thank you, I would be dead and we couldn't have been able to stop Xehanort without your help."

Ventus runs up behind me and, grinning from ear to ear, leaps up into the air swinging his fist up in victory. "We did it!"

I laugh. "Yes, now we just need to get the armor and go."

Ienzo walks up, he looks a little worse for wear, dust makes his hair look lighter and he has a cut across his left cheek. He nods at me before frowning as he looks over my shoulder.

"Where's Xemnas?" Ienzo asks, with a frown.

I spin around, looking for him. At last I spot him, steadily walking towards the armor which struggles against the chains at his approach. I gasp, starting forward but Ventus grabs my arm to stop me.

* * *

 **Xemnas's Point of View**

I walk forward cautiously. Having already made up my mind on what I need to do next. It has to happen eventually. Sooner rather then later. At least I think Aqua will be happy.

The armor struggles against its chains, its head raised as though it's looking at me. I tilt my head to the side, watching it cautiously. At last when I'm right in front of it I bend down, taking the Keyblade from it forcefully. With it's one weapon gone it stops struggling it's head turned back so that the mask is tilted towards my face. I stare a it for a moment before turning the Keyblade towards myself and pushing it to my chest. I squeeze my eyes closed as a feeling of falling overcomes me. I open my eyes at last to find myself standing in the middle of a glowing platform. The image I'm standing on shows Terra and I standing facing opposite directions. Smaller images of Aqua, Ventus, Eraqus and Xehanort are in a semi circle around the larger one of Terra and I. At the sound of a footstep I turn slowly. I know who it is before I see him. The man stands behind me, his blue eyes cautious as they meet my amber ones. I stare at him curiously.

"Hello, Terra."


	10. Chapter Ten: Earth, Water and Wind

Chapter Ten: Earth, Water and Wind

 **Terra's Point of View:**

I stare at the newcomer in my hearts core. Not that he's exactly new, after all, he's a part of me. And yet, his amber eyes, darker skin and grayish hair demonstrate all the differences between us. He's part Xehanort and thus not to be trusted. He greets me by name as if he's an old friend and takes a few steps forward before coming to a halt, perhaps noticing how I tense at his approach.

"As I'm here, and in a weakened state, why do you not reclaim your heart and body?" he asks me.

My hands ball into fists as I close my eyes for a moment. "I'm not strong enough. The darkness has such a tight hold on my heart...it's all I can do to prevent it from entirely consuming me and wiping the Terra everyone knew from existence. So, I'm afraid that you did this for nothing."

The man, Xemnas I believe he's called, scowls at the ground, when at last he looks back at me he looks sad but determined. He walks all the way up to me and I fight against every instinct that tells me to attack him, to destroy this intruder.

"Then we must join back together as one entity. That should make you strong enough, correct?" Xemnas asks me.

I frown, looking at him curiously. "Why should I trust you?"

"Because we're the same. I have your very body. Your heart lies within me, as does Xehanort's. But I am _not_ him. I keep regaining your memories. Some days I feel as though I _am_ you," he tells me. "It's infuriating. If I join my heart with yours, then you will become strong enough?"

I shake my head no with a sigh. "I may be strong enough then, but your heart is more darkness than light. I wouldn't be able to contain it. I already have too much darkness in me. And I won't hurt my friends...not again," I say.

Xemnas's eyes are far away, as though he can see straight through me. "'Your friends' you say. Yes they are your friends, you are lucky to have them and certainly do not deserve them. Aqua speaks so highly of you and Ventus, he almost seems to worship the very ground you walk on. They both believe in you, and are counting on you coming back. They will help you I am sure. Only time will tell which path you decide to lead. As for Xehanort...I can handle him. I'll keep him at bay, while you work at snuffing him out."

I still don't trust him. He turns away and I step forward, watching him cautiously. "But why? Why help me? What do you get out of this?"

He shoots a glare at me over his shoulder, summoning his weapons. "I am not doing this for you. I'm doing it for your friends."

I whirl to my right as Xehanort materializes at the other end of the platform. He frowns at me and then Xemnas, who charges at him with his weapons. They engage in a fight as I watch. After a short struggle and clashes of weapons, Xemnas flings Xehanort back to the edge of the platform. Just before he can fall the old man catches himself, moving quickly away from the edge. He and Xemnas stare at each other silently.

"Just you must agree to one thing. Don't ever hurt Aqua, in any way shape or form," Xemnas says.

"I...You have my word," I say, my gaze hard as I notice my hands start to take a transparent appearance.

"Good. Know that if you ever do, I will wipe you from existence," Xemnas says.

I nod, smiling slightly. "That's a deal." I hold up my hands, I've almost entirely faded now. Another moment and I'll be gone. I will be with my friends again. My eyes widen as Master Eraqus materializes behind Xehanort. Master Eraqus who I've for so long felt in my heart but never seen there. He shakes his head at me as I start forward.

"Go now, Terra!" He grabs Xehanort and struggles against him.

"One more thing," Xemnas says, wrenching my attention from Master Eraqus. "Tell Aqua and Ventus, that I say goodbye and wish them the very best."

I nod, feeling a pang of sympathy as Xemnas's emotions hit me like a brick wall. They flood through my entire being as images of his memories flash in front of my eyes. I squint at the struggle that unfolds before me.

"You're more different from me than I think you realize," I mutter.

I glance over towards Eraqus regretfully, reaching out to him. Darkness engulfs me and I close my eyes against it. I feel weightless for a moment and then as if I'm moving up through water as I re-enter the realm of waking. Despite everything else, I'm unable to stop a small smile from spreading across my face. I'm going to see my friends.

* * *

 **Aqua's Point of View:**

"Xemnas!" I yell, darting forward.

A hand clamps down on my arm, effectively stopping me. I look over my shoulder to see Ventus watching me. He shakes his head no, moving his hand to give mine a squeeze. We watch anxiously as Xemnas takes Terra's Keyblade from the armor. My eyes widen with horror as he flips the Keyblade around and slams it towards his chest. His eyes close as he starts falling towards the ground. I slide my hand from Ventus's. I run forward, sliding onto the ground in time to catch his upper body in my lap. His eyes are closed peacefully. If I didn't know better I would guess he was sleeping normally. Ventus crouches down beside me, peering into Xemnas's face anxiously. As I watch, darkness begins engulfing his body. I clutch him tighter, worry gripping my heart.

The darkness slowly begins dissipating, taking his silver hair with it and replacing it with brown hair of the same length. His skin lightens and his face becomes several years younger. I gasp.

"Terra!" Ven yells, grinning from ear to ear as he shakes our friend gently.

I watch with anticipation as Terra opens his eyes, blinking rapidly. I grin, tears welling up, partially obscuring my vision as his eyes meet mine. He appears confused before grimacing as he pushes himself up into a sitting position and touches his head as if in pain. I place my hand on his shoulder gently, peering carefully at his face.

"Terra?" I say.

He looks over at me and then at Ventus. A sob breaks through his usual tougher resolve and as he pulls Ventus and I into a hug he's shaking. He seems to clutch to Ven and I as a lifeline. A tear finally escapes from my eye. We sit like this for several minutes until Terra finally moves back, releasing us from his grip. Ventus sniffles, rubbing at his eyes with the palms of his hands.

"The three of us are finally together again." Ventus grins.

I nod, unable to stop a smile from spreading across my face. "Yeah."

Terra smiles at Ventus and then me, still shaking. "Aqua...Ven. It's been, a really long time...hasn't it? I've missed you guys." He grips his head with both hands, letting out a groan.

Ienzo suddenly appears beside me, his forehead creased in concern. "Let's get him back to the castle. The ordeal of switching back must have put a great strain on his body as well as his mind."

I nod, getting to my feet quickly. I hold out my hand to Terra and after a couple of moments he grasps it, pushing himself up to his feet. The apprentices walk up with Terra's now lifeless armor in their arms. Terra taps the switch on the shoulder and the armor materializes on him. He stumbles into Aeleus who slings Terra's arm around his shoulder to prop him up. I put on my own armor and open up a portal. Aeleus walks through first with Terra. I follow, falling into step beside Ventus. He places his hands behind his head as he walks.

"Don't worry Aqua, Terra will be just fine now," Ventus says cheerfully. "We just need to take down Xehanort and then we can go back to The Land of Departure. I know things won't be the same, not without Master Eraqus..." his voice loses it's cheerful edge at this. "But still, things will be okay."

Somehow, I doubt defeating Xehanort will be that simple. But he is right, things won't ever be the same again. Not like they were the night of that meteor shower so many years ago now...

"Thanks Ven," I say quietly, as we near the entrance back into Radiant Garden.

I let everyone else pass in front of me before stepping through the portal. My feet hit the stone path as we step out practically directly in front of the door to the castle. Ven runs forward and opens it and the others enter. I follow, my eyes adjusting to the darkness that is the castle after the bright lights outside. The sun is setting outside by now.

Ienzo leads us deeper into the castle, he bypasses the main stairway and opens a door into a place like a living room of sorts. It contains three sofas, several wooden chairs at a large desk and a few armchairs. Gold curtains are pulled over a wall that seems to be almost one entire large window. Even immediately takes a seat in one of the armchairs as Aeleus moves Terra over to one of the sofas before retreating to stand over by the door. Terra's armor fades as Ventus and I remove ours as well. Terra is staring stonily at the floor, his eyes glassy, he's still shaking slightly though not as much as before. I cross the room and sit down beside him, Ventus quickly sits on my other side, peering anxiously at our friend.

Ienzo opens his mouth to speak but Even beats him to it, addressing Terra. "So I am curious, now that you are, well, to be frank, _you_ again, do you remember anything of Xehanort's plans that might be able to help us?"

Terra looks up slowly, he blinks a couple of times before rapidly shaking his head no. "I...no, it hurts to try and think that far."

Even appears incredulous. "Come, you must remember something?"

I shoot Even a glare which he returns with a confused stare as Ienzo sits down in a chair near our couch.

"Now is not the time Even, he's been through a lot, and I'm sure he could use some time to rest and adjust," Ienzo says.

Terra nods at this, his bangs falling forward as he looks at his hands, obscuring his eyes from everyone's view. When Even opens his mouth to speak again, Terra gets to his feet. Holding out his hand as if to say stop.

"I need some time to recoup," Terra says, his voice strangely steady. "Perhaps we can talk tomorrow."

I watch as he hurriedly leaves the room, letting the door almost slam behind him in his hurry. Aeleus scowls at Even, at last moving to sit.

"Couldn't wait could you? Had to scare the boy," Aeleus says in what is probably the longest sentence I've ever heard him speak.

I get to my feet and Ven looks up at me curiously. "Where are you going?"

"To make sure Terra's okay," I say, heading for the door. When he gets up to follow me I shake my head no. "Why don't you wait here Ven."

He frowns but sits back down, turning to Ienzo as he starts talking to him. I leave, shutting the door more quietly than Terra did and walk down the hall. Where would Terra go in this castle? Or would he leave? After a moment I decide to head up the stairs towards the rooms. He didn't look up for a walk outside.

After walking up and down a couple of halls, poking my head into rooms, I find myself outside of Xemnas's room. I start to walk past it but pause when I hear the sound of crying from within. Why would he come here? I reach out tentatively and touch the doorknob before slowly turning it.

I look around the door and see Terra standing in the middle of the room, his arms folded over his chest and tears streaming down his face. He turns at the sound of the door, meeting my eye. I feel tears spring up to my own eyes again. Tears from worrying about him for so long, tears because of the lost time, tears for Master Eraqus, and tears for the inner pain Terra must be going through now. All of that along with happy tears. Because now, he's back.

He crosses the room in a few strides, pulling me to his chest, he rests his face against my shoulder, sobbing in a way I've never seen him do before. Terra...it takes a lot to make him cry. I wrap my arms around him, stroking his hair soothingly. We stand like that for what feels like an eternity until his sobs quiet and he steps back.

"I'm sorry Aqua, for everything," Terra says. "You gave up so much for me, falling into the land of darkness, being stuck there for so long. But thank you, for always believing in, and fighting for me. I don't deserve it after everything I did."

I sigh, looking at the ground briefly before meeting his eyes again. "Terra, that was a long time ago. What happened with the master, that wasn't really your fault. You couldn't let him hurt Ven... And now, we'll all move on. Everything's going to be all right. You've been through a lot, lost a lot of time. But you will be okay. You'll see."

He takes a deep breath before blowing out slowly. He nods. "But still, I'm sorry that I'm so weak. I'm no match for the darkness... But Master Eraqus, he isn't gone."

I stare at him, taken aback. "What do you mean?"

He brings his hand up to his chest, moving it to rest over his heart. "He...or at least some part of him, is here. In my heart. I don't know how. But he's been helping me, all this time."

I grin. "Then maybe we can get him back."

Terra nods, finally smiling a little. "It won't be easy...but it might be possible."

He sits down on the bed, looking drained while I think over what he just said. Master Eraqus isn't gone. All this time I assumed that he must be. Terra yawns and I take a step back towards the door.

"I'll leave so you can get some sleep," I say quietly.

He moves back so that he's laying against the pillows. "Thanks again Aqua."

I nod, opening the door and stepping out into the hall. A thought occurring to me suddenly I turn back around, frowning. "Terra, what made you come here? To this room I mean?"

Terra frowns, looking around confusedly for a moment. "I'm...I don't know. Why? Who's room is it?"

I shake my head, he doesn't need to worry about this right now. "Oh, it's not important. Goodnight Terra."

I shut his door softly before he can reply, walking back down the hall towards the others. He must have gone there because of Xemnas...but he doesn't seem to have his memories. Xemnas...it seems strange that he's just gone now. As if he was never there to begin with. But then, he was apart of Terra all along. It makes sense I suppose. And Terra's back now, that's what matters.

Terra seems so empty, broken. I never thought I would ever witness him like this. I want to help him, but I don't really know how. He'll have to work past this mostly on his own, he's the only one with power over his heart. But Ventus and I will be there every step of the way. Because there's no way I'll ever let anything happen to either of them again.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Split

Chapter Eleven: Split

"Aqua!"

I shoot upright in bed, blinking rapidly in the darkness, attempting to see whoever just yelled my name. I squint blearily as a figure comes into focus. Ventus. I yawn confusedly.

"Ven? What's wrong?" I whisper in his direction. I notice that he's holding his Keyblade and my eyes widen.

"Something's going on, there were heartless in my room," Ven tells me, not attempting to keep his voice lowered in the slightest. "A lot of them too! And when I looked outside my window there were more."

I swing my feet out of bed, pulling on my shoes in record time and grabbing a shawl to throw on over my pajamas. Heartless? Here? That can't be good. It has to be some scheme of Xehanort's. Perhaps some plan to take over Terra again or maybe even abduct him.

"Did you wake anyone else yet?" I ask, already walking out of the door.

I hear Ven run to catch up with me, matching my strides upon reaching me. I can barely see him shake his head no in the darkness. "I came straight to you."

"Okay, then let's split up. I'll go check on Terra, you should wake Ienzo if he isn't up already. Tell him and the others what's going on," I say. Ventus turns to run in the other direction but I grab his hand. "Be careful Ven."

He nods, shooting me a reassuring smile. He gives my hand a squeeze. "Okay. You too Aqua."

He runs off back down the hall and I hurry forward, summoning my Keyblade as I hurry through the dim halls. I make my way straight for Terra's or what used to be Xemnas's old room. I turn the corner to his hall and freeze. Countless Heartless bob in and out of the flooring, blocking my way to his room. It seems I was right. Xehanort is after Terra. But he isn't going to get him. Not this time.

I run forward, throwing flames at the flood of Heartless, taking care not to accidentally fling it at the walls. Slowly their numbers start to dwindle as I cut them down left and right. Just as I finish off the last one I notice a large dark hole in the ground. I creep forward slowly, peering into its depths. A darkside comes from within it, hardly fitting inside the hall. It flings balls of energy at me which I roll to avoid. Running around to the other side of the hall to slash at it from the side. It slams its hand into the ground and darkness surrounds it, causing little shadows to pop up and run towards me. I get rid of those and quickly run forward striking the darkside again. This time it fades into darkness, a heart rising up and disappearing through the roof. The hall now empty, I dart over to Terra's door and fling it open again coming to a halt at the sight in front of me. Someone in an organization coat stands in the center of the room and as I watch he sends Terra flying towards the window, the glass breaks on impact, shattering into a million tiny pieces as Terra disappears through it. His Keyblade lands on the floor in front of the window with a loud thud.

I run forward, leaning out of the window to see below. Terra slowly stands up, facing Master Xehanort in the grass. Blood trickles down from a cut across the side of Terra's face as he summons his Keyblade back into his hand. I place my hands carefully on the windowsill, preparing to leap down. But just as I start to push off from the ground I am held back by the person in the organization coat. I manage to spin around in their grasp and come face to face with Braig, who shakes his head no at me with an amused expression on his face. I glare at him, casting fire on his coat. He yelps and lets go of me and I take the opportunity to leap out through the window. I wince upon landing, pain shooting up through my leg. I ignore it and dart over towards Xehanort, holding my Keyblade out. Chains wrap around me, pinning my arms to my sides and wrapping around my legs sending me crashing to the ground. I bite my lip, fighting against them as my Keyblade is forced from my hand by the chains.

Apparently feeling certain in the fact that I have been taken out of the battle, Xehanort turns to Terra, flinging him backwards against the side of the castle. Before Terra can move he flings him in the opposite direction into a water fountain. Terra lets out a groan, slowly sitting up. Xehanort crosses the grass over towards him, pinning him down with his foot. He stares down at him for a moment, his back facing me.

"Now, what exactly to do with you?" Xehanort says. "Like this you'll only get in my way."

He lifts his Keyblade and points the tip directly downwards. I gasp, struggling to break free of the chains desperately.

"Don't touch him!" I yell, hoping in vain to distract him.

As I expected he doesn't spare me a glance, instead slamming the Keyblade down towards Terra's chest. Darkness envelopes both of them. When it fades I see three figures instead of two. The third being Xemnas who kneels in the grass, his face turned downwards. As I watch he looks up, glancing around confusedly. His eyes meet mine briefly in the small amount of light coming from the castle behind us, his widen as he turns back towards Xehanort. Terra is unmoving on the ground, seemingly rendered unconscious.

"Hello again Xemnas," Xehanort says, a slight chuckle in his tone as though he's amused by the current situation. And he most likely is. He spins chains around Xemnas and Terra. "I need your help again. Surely you didn't think that you would be rid of me that easily?"

He opens a portal in front of them and Mariaul walks through one as Braig comes from the direction of the castle, grabbing Terra and Xemnas and pulling them towards the portal. Xemnas struggles against Braig, trying to break free of the chains. A moan from Xehanort rips my attention from Terra and Xemnas. He doubles over in pain and I look past him to see Ventus standing there, he moves his Keyblade away from Xehanort's back, pointing it a couple of inches from the old mans neck. With Xehanort distracted the chains vanish around me. I jump to my feet, summoning my Keyblade and run over to point it at Braig, seeing him as a bigger threat than Mariaul. His golden eyes flash as he seems to weigh his options. Xemnas is beside me in a flash pointing one weapon at Braig and the other at Mariaul. With this it appears that we have the upper hand at the moment, even though Terra remains unconscious.

Xehanort glances behind me, anger flashing across his face. I glance back over my shoulder to see all of Ansem's apprentices standing there. All appearing ready for battle. Sighing, Xehanort shakes his head.

"Well well, it seems I shouldn't underestimate you and your friends Aqua," Master Xehanort says, his eyes locking with mine. "Keep them, it makes little difference to me."

He, Braig and Mariaul open portals in unison. The darkness envelopes them and they're gone. I breathe a sigh of relief as Ventus runs over to Terra. I follow a few steps behind. He's breathing, but still unconscious. Ienzo walks up, glancing at him briefly.

"Would you bring him inside please Aeleus?" Ienzo asks.

Aeleus lifts him quickly, slinging Terra over his shoulder as if he weighed no more than a leaf. I follow them, falling into step with Xemnas. I glance over to find him staring at the ground as if he can see straight through it, his shoulders hunched down. He glances up, catching my eye for a moment until I look away quickly. What is he now? Separate from Terra. I suppose he must have already built some of his own heart, to be able to exist separately. Is he mostly Xehanort now? There are so many questions running through my mind, I don't even know what to say to him at all.

Aeleus takes Terra to a new room under Ienzo's instructions. Once there Ienzo leaves, muttering something about the alarm system. Even stoops over Terra, examining him before cleaning the wound to his head. After a couple of moments he steps back.

"He should be fine, he's merely unconscious," Even informs the room, "and weak but he should recover in time."

I nod smiling. "Thanks. I think I'll stay here until he wakes up."

Ventus plops down at the foot of Terra's bed, stifling a yawn. "I'll stay too."

Glancing around the room I see a chair in the corner and pull it over to the bed, sitting down on it. I look at Terra's face. His eyebrows appear furrowed slightly as though he's upset. Or maybe in pain, whether emotional or physical. Reaching out I brush the bangs from his face gently.

"That was a close one," Ven says after a moment. "He almost got Terra...again."

I nod in agreement, leaning back in the chair. "But he didn't."

It's a good half of an hour later before Terra opens his eyes. He looks around blearily, focusing first on Ventus and then me. His eyes widen and he sits up, swinging his feet off of the bed. I hold out my hand to stop him from getting up, smiling at him.

"Wh-what happened?" Terra asks. "Where's Xehanort?"

"He left," I say, gently pushing him back against the bed. "Ventus showed up and turned the tides against Xehanort."

Terra seems to relax slightly at this before a look of dawning passes over his face. "Xemnas...he's no longer inside of me. Is he with Xehanort?"

It's Ventus who replies, shaking his head no. "He's here. He's probably talking to Ienzo."

"You should rest. Try to get some sleep," I tell him. "Ienzo was fixing the alarm system just now, so you should be safe now. And my room is just down the hall if you need anything."

Terra nods, closing his eyes as exhaustion lines his face. "Thank you Aqua. And you too Ven."

I get to my feet, offering Terra another smile as I head for the door. Ventus comes out behind me and shuts the door, yawning widely. He grins.

"I'm going back to bed, goodnight Aqua!" Ven waves before running off down the hall.

I'm halfway to my room before a thought suddenly occurs to me. Where did Xemnas go exactly? One moment he was standing with the rest of us and then he seemed to disappear. I start off in the other direction, strolling through the castle. I've walked through nearly the entire castle before nearly bumping into Ienzo. He looks surprised to see me, possibly because I'm standing right outside of the basement. Probably with a confused expression on my face.

"Ienzo, have you seen Xemnas anywhere?" I ask.

"I believe that he went to bed," Ienzo tells me, a stack of papers in his arms. "But he appears to be doing all right. Better than Terra. Granted he wasn't the one flung against a castle."

I smile. "Thanks, for everything Ienzo. You've been a great help through everything."

He smiles. "You're welcome... You should try to get some sleep. It's almost dawn."

I nod, turning back the way I came. "Goodnight."

As soon as I reach my room I collapse on the bed, kicking off my shoes and closing my eyes. I fall asleep almost instantly, my mind slipping quietly into the realm of dreams.

* * *

I wake feeling fully rested later that morning. The sun looks like it's been up for awhile yet the castle is silent as though everyone else is asleep or just now waking as well. I yawn, stretching. It takes me a moment to realize there's something heavy resting across my ankles, preventing me from moving them. I sit up quickly, nearly starting in surprise at the sight of Xemnas curled up at the foot of my bed, his head resting on my ankles and his eyes closed peacefully. What is he doing here? In my room? He looks so innocent while he sleeps, and oddly helpless. He still so greatly resembles Terra. I smile slightly as I reach out to shake his shoulder gently. He jerks before opening his eyes, looking at me and then the window. It's a couple more moments before he moves, slowly sitting up.

"Who am I exactly?" he asks, barely audible.

"What do you mean?"

He turns towards me sharply, his eyes boring holes into mine. I notice that he looks empty, like the life has been mostly sucked out of him. I thought he looked helpless while asleep but nothing compared to how much he does now.

He reaches out slowly, his fingers brushing against my cheek. "I know you're real. You're Aqua. But me? I'm not Terra, and not Xehanort either. I was never meant to exist, let alone separately from them."

How to answer him exactly? The truth is I don't really have an answer for him. Besides what little Ienzo has figured out.

"Well, you seem to be growing your own heart," I say. "According to Ienzo that is."

He looks at me dumbfounded, before uncurling his hands and staring at his palms, his eyes far away.

I get to my feet, smiling over at Xemnas. I feel a twinge of sympathy for him grip my heart. "Hey Xemnas? I'm hungry, I think I'm going to go into the town and get some biscuits... Would you like to come?"

He looks surprised before smiling at me. He leaves the room to let me change and then we head off towards the town. The sun shines brightly, making the day warmer than I've felt before in this world. Xemnas is strangely quiet as he falls into step beside me, matching my stride as I lead the way through the town.

He's still silent as I hand him two of the four biscuits. I got one for Terra and another for Ventus as well. In fact he doesn't speak until we're standing outside of the castle at which point he stops in his tracks and stares up at it.

"What do I do Aqua?" Xemnas asks. "Do I belong here with all of you? Or do I belong connected with Terra. I feel strange...it's difficult to explain. As if a darkness has been lifted from my heart, as though I can see more clearly,even my thoughts seem somehow different."

I smile at him. In a split second decision I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his neck. He stays still for a minute before returning my hug, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," I tell him, stepping back. "You'll figure all of that out. And...you have friends. I'll help you."

He seems surprised by my last statement before grinning at me, appearing possibly the happiest I've seen him. He reaches out and squeezes my hand briefly.

"Thank you Aqua," he says. "Shall we go in?"

I nod, following him through the doors of the castle... Is he completely his own person? Have all of his actions been entirely his own? I bite my lip as I follow Xemnas into the kitchen. I wonder, do he and Terra still have a part of Xehanort inside of them? And without Terra influencing Xemnas, is he mostly Xehanort or at least heavily influenced by him? Can he be trusted?


End file.
